30 Wishes: Shinichi and Shiho
by Miyano Ran
Summary: These are all compilations of 30 different ShinichiShiho themes that I have authored. However, each theme may have more than one chapter. Basically...it's Shinichi and Shiho centric... Have fun reading this...and if you know me well, you know I love angst
1. Chap1 of Theme1

_**30 Wishes: Shinichi and Shiho**_

_**Authored By:**_

_** Miyano Ran **_

Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan.

Fiction Rating: T

**Theme 1: Sacrifice**

**Chapter 1: After Happiness… Then Comes Pain **

Genre: Angst/Drama

_Why did you have to do that, Shiho? Why?_

Shinichi was in distress. He didn't know what to do.

Shiho, his very best friend, had been harmed by a crazed madman who used a revolver with a steaming hot muzzle in shooting her.

"Kudo- …" Shiho's eyes opened slightly as she focused her vision on the lad. "…kun…"

"Shh…" Shinichi pressed his index finger against her soft lips tenderly. "Don't talk, just rest."

"I…" Her voice was weak and almost breathless. She didn't sound like her usual sarcastic self.

"Idiot, I told you, don't speak." He said to her with great amount of care. "I won't leave you."

_I should be the one breathing from an oxygen tank now. You baka, why? I should be the one…_

Shinichi closed his eyes; events of this morning came on his mind. He remembered.

_**Flashback**_

"_What do you think I should buy for Ran's birthday gift, huh? Do you have any idea?" _

_The two teens were walking on the sidewalks of Beika, different shops in view._

"_Why are you asking me of all people? Ask someone else, Kudo." Shiho responded._

"_Um…let me think…" Shinichi said in his very sarcastic tone while tapping his chin with his index finger. "Ah…I know, maybe because…" He looked at her naughtily. "…you're a girl?" Shinichi cheekily rubbed Shiho's auburn hair with his left hand, deliberately making her hair very messy, while tickling her waist with his right hand. _

_Shiho laughed hard, tears in her eyes. _

"_Hahahahaha!! Haha! Hahaha!! Stop Kudo! Stop it! Ahhahaha!! Stop! Stop!"_

_Shinichi and Shiho just giggled together, happiness filled the air._

_Finally, Shinichi poked her stomach, tickling her._

"_Stop it! Not there! That's my ticklish part!" Shiho couldn't stop laughing, pushing him away._

"_There, for the first time ever in your life, you are finally laughing!" Shinichi remarked._

"_Just…just… stop it! Hahaha!!" Shiho struggled helplessly._

_Shinichi finally had mercy on her and said. "Alright…alright…I'll stop."_

_He finally stopped tickling her and Shiho gagged for air._

"_That was a very VERY bad thing to do, Kudo Shinichi!" Shiho pointed out angrily, fixing her messed-up hair._

"_Oh…come on, I'm serious, I just did that because we've been walking around different shops for two hours already and you haven't even been telling me the possible things that Ran might like to receive for her birthday. What's that about?!"_

"_How many times do I have to ask you this?" Shiho groaned, hands on her hips, facing him. "Why are you asking ME of all people? Why not Hattori-san? Toyama-chan? Suzuki-chan? How about asking her father Mouri-san? Or how about Kitahama-sensei, our class adviser? Or why not Nakatsu-senpai, the 3__rd__ year who has a crush on her? Why ME? Go disturb others! I told you, I have more important things to do like finishing up my chemistry research and my physics report!"_

"_Hey…those physics report are not to be passed until next month, what's the rush? And, that chemistry research weren't you already exempted from that because you had the HIGHEST GRADES in the whole campus?" Shinichi retorted._

"_I know I'm exempted, doesn't mean I can't do it otherwise." She answered back. "And besides, I'm planning to submit the physics thing earlier than usual so that I can get started with next month's assignments."_

"_Fine… But, still, you HAVE to help me in this -finding a gift for Ran- thing, er…problem…Please?" Shinichi begged._

"_Why the hell ME?!" She groaned in exasperation._

_Shinichi sighed. "Look, first of all, I have to ask a girl's opinion, since Ran's a girl, so asking Hattori is out of the question. He might just give me katana (sword) or soccer balls or a tennis racket… a mystery novel or…or a baseball T-shirt as choices for Ran's birthday gift. Come on…they'll never work. You know how insensitive is Hattori in aspects of girls, right?"_

_Shiho raised her eyebrows and laughed. "Insensitive like you?"_

"_Am not! I'm very sweet to girls!" Shinichi replied. "So shut up!" _

_Shiho laughed again with sarcasm. "Yeah! Telling a girl to shut up is REALLY sweet of you."_

_Shinichi groaned, lost of words in defeat. "Whatever." He muttered._

"_My point is, there's no way I can ask Ojii-san either! He might know everything about what his daughter likes but…still, I can't even have a peaceful conversation with him! Before I even start talking, he'll go- What do you want Detective Brat?! You have no right to talk to my daughter! Blah…blah…blah…He'll just keep on ranting until the sun goes down! I tell you Shiho, he won't even give me his time of day." _

_Shinichi sighed. _

"_I don't want to ask Toyama or Suzuki either, although they are Ran's closest friends and even if they ARE girls, I'm just not close to them and I'm not comfortable talking with them." _

_Shinichi shuddered. _

"_Especially with Suzuki-san…she's such a flirtatious and clingy girl! I tell you, that's why I like Ran so much, because she's NOT clingy at all, she's just far from it! She's so sweet!" _

_Shinichi groaned._

"_Ughh… That Suzuki, she thinks that boys will like her once she frolics around on the beach with her bikini on, but, I tell you this, we boys are DISGUSTED with those girls trying hard to get boyfriends! It's beyond DISGUSTING! I don't want to talk to her…And, Shiho-chan, there's no way I'm asking our chemistry teacher about Ran! No way! And, there's also NO WAY whatsoever that I'm going to ask Nakatsu-kun! That guy has been my rival since my first year of high school. He's really into Ran, I can't just waltz in and ask him- hey, do you know what Ran might like for her birthday? Then…he'd go- Oh? It's her birthday? When? When? Then, for all I know, I just gave away the ticket to Ran's happiness in Nakatsu's hands!"_

_He pleaded. _

"_That's why… you're the only one I've got, Shiho!" He clasped his hands together dramatically._

_Shiho sighed. "I don't really know much about Ran-san…"_

_Shinichi cut off her sentence and begged once more. "Please? Please, Shiho?"_

"…_however, I'll try my best to help you." Shiho finished her sentence._

_Shinichi smiled in response, embracing her tight. "Oh thanks! Thanks!"_

_In spite of her jealousy towards Ran, Shiho couldn't help but form a small smile on her lips, hugging him back._

_You are a really lucky girl, Ran-san… Shiho thought. Really very lucky…_

"_Shall we go shopping, then?" Shinichi asked cheerfully, entwining his fingers on hers._

_Shiho nodded._

_She suddenly paused, realizing that Shinichi already entwined his fingers against hers, said._

"_Oh, and, please don't hold me." She said sarcastically while shrugging his hands off hers._

"_But…why? We're just friends, aren't we? Why can't we hold hands?" Shinichi asked truly innocently._

"_You don't get it, do you? Shiho asked. "People will get a wrong impression. Ran will get the wrong impression." She emphasized._

"_Huh?"_

_Shiho looked at him intently._

"_Uh--Ohhh…… Okay…" He stammered, finally understanding._

"_And…"_

"_What?"_

"_Let me remind you that only the same gender as me can touch me. Unless you turn into a girl, you are not holding me. Not even a tickle, alright?" _

"_Ow…how harsh! Do you hate me that much?"_

"_Nah…not only you. I hate all men in this world."_

"_Really? Gee…" Shinichi's eyes were downcast._

"_Kidding…I don't hate you…" She punched him lightly on the arm._

"_Knew it!" Shinichi laughed knowingly._

'_You were already able to touch me, not a physical touch. You touched my heart. You touched my soul…' Shiho thought in her mind. 'In fact…you are the kindest…the kindest male that I ever knew…'_

_Shiho bit a smile._

"_So…shall we go?" Shinichi looked at her straight at the face, questioning her with his attractive cerulean eyes, smiling._

"_Yeah." Shiho briefly replied somewhat monotonously, but was happy deep inside._

_Shinichi grinned._

_As they were entering a small store, someone caught Shinichi's eyes._

_Shiho noticed Shinichi stopping on his tracks._

_She looked at him. "Something wrong, Kudo-kun?" _

"_That guy…" He pointed the man in shades while whispering. "That guy over there…"_

_Upon seeing the identified man, Shiho asked. "Yeah? What about him?" _

"_I recognize him from somewhere…" Shinichi whispered. _

"_Where?" Shiho asked._

"_I'm not sure, but, I have a very bad feeling…" Shinichi replied._

_The man got out a riffle from his coat and suddenly started firing people everywhere._

"_What the…?" Shiho was surprised at what she saw._

_Shinichi held Shiho's hand tighter to reassure of her safety. "I'll protect you, don't worry."_

_Then, seeing the man in shades firing random people everywhere made him remember who he was._

"_I remember now! I know who that guy is!" Shinichi exclaimed._

"_Who?" Shiho asked, ducking from the bullets being fired._

"_He's the crazed madman that I arrested form a serial killing case a year before I became Conan! He wasn't in the right state of mind so instead of putting him behind bars, we sent him to a rehabilitation center and mental hospital instead!"_

"_Then…why is he here roaming around?" Shiho asked with alarm._

"_Well, I'd say he ESCAPED from the mental hospital!" Shinichi concluded._

"_Oh no! He shot 4 people dead already!" Shiho screamed._

_BANG!_

"_Ahh… That would be the fifth dead person now!" Shiho yelled._

_BANG!_

"_Okay, that's the sixth…" Shiho yelled, ducking from bullets._

"_He's headed our way!" Shinichi panicked while shouting. He covered Shiho with his whole body._

_The madman saw Shinichi and Shiho hiding under some rubble and debris._

"_Well, well, well…if it isn't Kudo Shinichi who put me in that mental hospital 2 years ago!"_

_He said, playing with his riffle like a circus juggling ball._

"_Ogurishi Izumi…" Shinichi said, protecting little Shiho-chan. "You still remember me?"_

"_Yes of course." He said in a very evil and menacing tone. "How can I ever forget you? I hate you! I hate you for ruining my life and putting me in that mental center! I told you, I'm not crazy!"_

"_YES. YOU. ARE!!" Shinichi screamed. "You should remain in that mental hospital!"_

"_How dare you!" The man shouted! "I hate you! I've always wanted revenge Kudo Shinichi!"_

_He pointed the muzzle at Shinichi._

"_NO!" Shiho shouted. "Don't kill him!" She tried to protect Shinichi._

_Shinichi's face was filled with anger and apprehension. "Stay out of this, Shiho!"_

_Izumi was beginning to pull the trigger…_

_Shinichi's eyes widened as his jaw gritted with frustration. "No Izumi! Don't do this! It's wrong to kill people!"_

"_Whoever said that I ever have to listen to you?" He reasoned._

_An evil smile appeared. A merciless smile… _

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

_Shinichi didn't feel any pain. Did Ogurishi Izumi spare him after all?_

_He opened his eyes just to find out the horror that has happened._

_Shinichi had blood all over him…but, it wasn't his blood._

"_Well, well, what do you know…I shot someone else after all…? Splendid…"_

_Izumi smirked with evil eyes and evil thoughts._

"_That will cause you even more pain. My job in ruining Kudo Shinichi's life has gotten even better."_

_He said that last phrase and left the mourning Shinichi._

_A tear fell on Shiho's bleeding stomach._

"_Shiho, NO!! NO!! SHIHO NO!"_

_He wailed._

_**End of Flashback**_

Shinichi was sitting on Shiho's bed, crying his heart out.

"Why…Why are you crying, Kudo-kun…?" Shiho asked worriedly. She suppressed a laugh. "H…Hey, I should be the one crying here. I'm the one who got hurt, remember? You have not a single scratch on you…so why are you crying…?" She asked with a very frail raspy voice.

"Hearing you sound so weak…seeing you so helpless…" Shinichi stared at her and shouted, more tears flowing. "I caused you this, Shiho! You shouldn't have had saved me! You could have just let me out there to rot and die!"

"Jeez, that's a _really _nice way of saying thanks to someone who just saved your life." She said madly at him.

"I'm…I'm sorry Shiho." He apologized, wiping his tears, struggling to get his manly pose. "I…" He clenched his fists. "I don't want you to be harmed…I…I don't know what to say…"

"I do…" Shiho smiled weakly, trying to bare the pain in her wounded abdomen.

Shinichi looked at her inquiringly.

"Say thanks to me." She said, then, she winced in pain when the bandage on her shoulder wound was peeling off.

"Thanks." Shinichi smiled. "Thanks for saving my life."

"Just wait. I'll get more bandages." Shinichi said kindly.

Shiho simply nodded and Shinichi headed for the door.

"Wait." Shiho called out in a very fragile shaking voice.

"Yeah?" Shinichi turned around, facing her in response.

"I don't know why…but my head stings a little." Shiho answered.

Shinichi laughed, thinking that it was nothing to worry about. "Maybe it's just nerve pain after all this stress you got." He guessed a reason.

"Yeah. You're probably right, Kudo. It might just be slight nerve pain." She agreed. "Nothing to worry about."

"Just get some rest and I'll get some vitamins for you." Shinichi told her.

She simply nodded, but she looked as if she was getting weaker and weaker. Her brows furrowed in unison, indicating pain.

Shinichi left the door, looking back at her, he felt slightly worried. He walked his way to the nurses' station.

_Why would she abruptly have a headache?_

Suddenly……

He heard a loud deadening shrill that echoed throughout the hallways of the hospital. The shrill was filled with excruciating pain succeeding from a long suppressed grief. It sounded like the piercing scream of pain… the scream of intense death…

_Her headache…… _He thought in quick cold alarm of the realization. _Headache…? Why?_

He felt cold chill running down his spine and he felt the world crumbled around him. He knew it was his end, it was hers as well. He felt panic; a rush of pure cold blood ran down his nerves, cold sweat mixed with his forming tears as he shouted, and running fast towards her room.

Her heartbeat was extremely dreadfully slow. Her blood pressure was unexpectedly low. She was unconscious all of a sudden as her two eyes shut.

"SHIHO!! Wake up! SHIHO!! Wake up, darn it!! SHIHO!! DAMN!!"

**End of Chapter 1 of Theme 1**

To be continued…

Time Started: June 11, 2008

Time Finished: August 3, 2008


	2. Chap2 of Theme1

_**30 Wishes: Shinichi and Shiho**_

_**Authored By:**_

_** Miyano Ran **_

Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan (the greatest anime of all time!)

Genre: Plain Violence (Rated T)

Caution: There are VERY bad words in this chapter. Forgive me; it's really needed in the story. I truly don't like writing the bad mouth parts either… although, this is essential to spice up any story. I hate bad words. I don't say them at all.

PS: My story, Compilation of Mysteries, has a LOT of BAD words (Call this CM for short)

By the way, thanks to **aquagirl520, AiEdogawaIsaBellaCullen, KeRose, charon101 and alexhou04 **for reviewing!

**A small dedication to AiEdogawaIsaBellaCullen since she threatened me:**

You're _so_ lucky, **AiEdogawaIsaBellaCullen!** It looks like your threat on me is _really _working. Now, since I updated a very and I must repeat again - _very_- bloody long chapter, I suppose you won't 'try' to make my life miserable anymore. Anyway, I hope we're still truce… because you sounded pretty mean in your review… or maybe I'm just too sensitive, I wouldn't know. Anyway, enjoy!

Love you readers all!! Please enjoy this…

Oh…and by the way, your personal emotions must NOT be affected by this, alright? This is JUST a fanfic guys…no reason to get traumatized by this. To all the young kids reading this out there… hmmm…maybe this isn't for your age yet, well, it really depends on how mature you are. But, I suggest, kids, children of any age, I'm already warning you all right at this moment, this is a VIOLENT chapter. You could read my other happy and funny fanfics. That is all I have to say. Anyways, enjoy!

PS: get ready for more twists, violence, thrill and new characters…Bye Bye XD

This chapter is quite long. Please take your time reading and DO NOT FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT!

Well, here it is guys… chapter 2…

**Theme 1: Sacrifice**

**Chapter 2: Black Is Back In The Next Block**

Setting: In a classy liquor house

"Yo! Yo, knucklehead! Get over here! Gimme some liquor!"

Three seconds later………

"What in this damn world is taking you hell so long?! Go to hell!"

"Why don't we just kill him now since he won't give us our liquor, aniki (big brother)?"

"Dumb ass, if you do that, we will never get our liquor!!"

The waiter hurriedly ran to the table of the two and gasped for air. He bowed down his head, falling to his knees, he begged.

"I'm so sorry, sir! There were just so many customers! I apologize!" He cried out.

Upon seeing the weapons that the two men had, the waiter added. "Please, spare me!!"

"Yeah, yeah, the important thing is that we got our liquor! Now scram! Or…I'll shoot you!!"

He pulled the trigger; the target was at the marble floor.

BANG! BANG! -- He shot the marble floor twice. The floor was steaming with fresh smoke, as the bullets had pierced the floor.

Hearing this, the waiter yelped and ran for his life and cowered under one of the large tables, shivering in fear.

All the customers looked and they too were all terrified at the two black men.

The blonde chuckled and said to his partner. "He's really lucky that he's still alive now, that slowpoke waiter. For some reason, I don't feel like seeing blood today. It makes me sick… I just ate. And besides, I just killed three people an hour ago." He said while blowing the smoke coming out from his riffle.

"Nice one!" His partner said. "How'd you kill them?" He asked while drinking his liquor.

"Asphyxiation." The blonde replied simply. "I placed some powder on their drinks."

The blonde swallowed a large gulp of liquor then.

Author's Note: If you don't know what that means, it means being unable to breathe, loosing air, because of either the strangulation method or cyanide. In this case, this evil blonde used cyanide as a killing machine.

"Why? Was that the boss's order?" The fat partner with shades asked.

"No." The blonde told him in reply.

Suddenly, the blonde saw a waiter smoking a _Fortune _cigarette and at that he felt sadness gush in his system when he saw that name… _Fortune…_

He clenched his fists on his lap. Then, he got back to reality when his partner spoke up.

"You're always so curt with answers. Who ordered you to kill those three?" The fat man asked.

"Vermouth, who else? She's the boss's right hand assassin, she's always in charge on who, where, when to do missions of assassinations or drug dealing. She even controls the scientists and med-techs group."

"No way!" The fat man screeched. "She controls Atsushi and Hell Angel Elena as well?!"

"Shhh!! Damn you!!" The blonde hushed him angrily. He looked around. "Don't EVER talk about _those two _in public!!" The blonde was so furious at the fat man in shades and black hat together with his black blazer and necktie that he slapped him.

Actually, everything they wore was all in black. Upon seeing the two, the only color that is not black in the blonde man's shiny long dark blonde hair. Among _them _only his and Vermouth's golden blonde hair stands out the most. He likes to keep his hair in its original color, thank you very much. Well, it is simply because; he finds his golden hair unique.

"I'm so sorry, aniki!" The man pleaded for apology, clasping his two hands together.

"Yeah, yeah, I won't kill you just yet." The blonde spoke. "For now, let's just drink."

They clanked their liquor bottles together and drank at the same time.

"Thank you, aniki." He bowed his head in gratitude for his consideration in not killing or punishing him yet for accidentally exposing a highly lethal secret of the organization during their gruesome death conversation just about a minute ago.

Those two are REALLY evil! I hate them a lot! -- Um…er, this is my personal opinion.

"Now… about Sherry…is she still alive?" The fat, muscular guy wondered, asking his partner.

The blonde laughed maniacally. "Sherry has just been taken cared of this morning."

The fat man concluded. "Then, West Point's mission is over?"

The blonde flicked his long blonde hair and finished up his liquor before laughing. "Are you kidding me? Oh…it's not yet over!"

He shouted, evil eyes forming, a bad terrible smile danced around his lips as he said.

"That's just face one of the plan." He laughed. "This is just the beginning!! Hahahahaha!!"

_Sherry… Kudo Shinichi tantei-san…_

_Our revenge on you has just begun…_

An evil smirked appeared among two of the people in the liquor house.

They were wearing black.

The ancient old rusty electric fan attached to the ceiling was closed. The room was humid and spider webs, dirt and dust covered filled the spaces. It has been almost two and a half years now, since _that ravishingly beautiful girl _worked there at that very room. It was too bad that _she_ was named after that cigarette, a beauty like _her_ didn't deserve to have that kind of codename, and since _she_ was financially unequipped, the name didn't suit _her_, it was mocking on _her_ part actually. But, the Boss chose it.

_Her_ two older sisters never knew……

Since then, no one cleaned the old room while the great amount of dirt kept on pilling up. _That girl_, escaped from that fearful place, pure fear reflected from _her_ blue green eyes as she said her last words to him.

_I won't do your dirty work anymore! I'm not your slave!_

She sounded just like _her_ sister; _her_ sister was a traitor to _them_.

After having said that, _she_ had received that slap on the cheek from _him _and ever since, _she_ never dare said a word to anyone in that gloomy place again.

Now, _he _was back at that very same room again filled with unused test tubes, piles of dirt on the test tube holder, broken Erlenmeyer flasks, the broken pieces of mortar and pestle were still scattered on the floor. The crucible had lost its cover, oh yeah, _he _threw it at _her_…and, luckily _she_ ducked from it. Ah…_he_ remembered now, _she_ cleaned up the broken pieces and threw them in the trash.

_Damn! What's taking West Point so long?! I always have to punish slow people……_

_Staying here in this old room is not good for me…DAMN… It gives back memories…_

_I'm sorry…I miss you… Fortune………_

Suddenly,

"Aniki Gin! Aniki Gin!" A man shouted, panting, running towards the said blonde man, shutting the door with a loud bang. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"You have been late for a whole 30 minutes, West Point! What in the world took you so damn long?!" The blonde asked with a death threat- like low pitched voice.

"Ah…I almost wasn't able to escape from the Beika Hospital, Aniki! I almost got caught! Because of that damn girl…"

West Point's voice trailed off slowly.

"Why? What on earth happened? Tell me." The blonde said angrily.

West Point inhaled air, then, he sighed. "That Sherry…… she…she shouted so darn loud, Aniki! She was in pain… she…she shouted so darn loud!! I tried to cover her mouth, but… That…that tantei Vermouth knows about quickly ran back to the room… I… I had to hide under her bed. Until everything was stable, I ran out of the room, but, as to not look suspicious, I walked casually, Aniki."

"And… you don't want to be suspected as a criminal?" The blonde guy asked then chuckled. "You sure are dumb, West Point. You are an absolute amateur! If you want to blend in the crowd, wear something…something that isn't black…" The blonde told him sharply.

"Yeah, but…Aniki, you all are wearing black… _we… we_ all wear black, don't we?" The man asked.

"You are not one of us yet, West Point." The blonde said and grinned when he saw him frown. He really likes ruining people's moods, let alone people's lives for Pete's sake. "You are just a temporary replacement for…"

The blonde stopped on his words and pressed his lips together. Then, realizing that he had a lighted cigar in his mouth, the edges of his thick long lips got burned by it. He simply threw out the nasty substance that had cause pain to his lips. He looked sideways at the chair beside him, once sat there a _young lady_ which he was very fond of… and just because of _that incident _two and a half years ago… she… she simply isn't here anymore.

His sad eyes quickly shifted to stern, serious and determined eyes. He knew very well that this was Vermouth's order, this was _his _liking, _his _fulfillment, but, her last words sank in…

_Please, I beg of you…don't put a single scratch on Akemi-neesan and Shiho-neechan!_

And how could he possibly resist?

He knew this wasn't like him…

This wasn't like him to be so weak…

However, he had an excuse after all.

She had _incomparable beauty. _

She was _crying. _

…Crying _hard._

"You were saying?" West Point cut off his thoughts and inquired him.

"You're just a replacement…of…" That blonde was so hurt that he couldn't mention her in what he was used to calling her; instead, he decided to use her birth name.

"You're just a replacement…of… of," He exhaled loud and looked at him in the eyes, spelling out the painful name of the girl which he loved like crazy.

"_Miyano Haruka._"

"Miyano Haruka? You mean For……"

"Damn! Don't you DARE say her codename in front of me!!" He shouted angrily as could be.

"Ah…hounto ni gomenasai… Aniki!" West Point shouted 'I'm truly sorry' abruptly at the blonde evil fellow and bowed down his head, clasping his hands together above his lowered head.

The blonde… didn't say a word…

He was spellbound…

Spellbound of Haruka's beauty, intelligence, attitude……

Suddenly, he looked at West Point in the eyes sternly and told him firmly.

"DO. NOT. KILL. SHERRY." He said slowly, emphasizing the words through his lips.

"But…why, Aniki? You and Vermouth have always wanted her dead since before… and now that we have tracked her down… you… you don't want her dead?" West Point asked in great confusion.

Gin smirked. "I just remembered…" He halted in his words and continued what he had to say in his head.

… _I remembered the words of the angel in my life._

He temporarily shut his eyes.

"Just…just, DON'T TOUCH SHERRY, alright?!" He said firmly once more. "I can't tell you the reason, West Point."

"But…but…"

"Shut up! I said DON'T KILL SHERRY. Do as I say, will you!?" He repeated angrily.

"Alright… alright…" The man nodded, turned around, headed for the door.

As the man was walking away from him, turning the doorknob, the blonde uttered.

"Don't you want you payment?" He asked. "This is what you came here for, right?"

The blonde waved the thick bills in front of his eyes, mesmerizing him just how much cash he had on his palms.

"You're job here is done, this is your payment for your fine work." The blonde told him.

"Oh yeah!" The man said delightedly. "The cash! The cash! I'm in need of that money! I have to give little Izumi as well, or else, he'll hate me and curse me for the rest of his life." Then, he thought of something and asked. "But… what about the Kudo kid, what do we do to him? Don't you want me to finish him off as well? I can do it right now, Aniki." West Point offered in reply.

"No. I'll finish this mission myself." The blonde clarified. "But, I really can't harm that damn strawberry blonde! No matter how mush I want to shoot her with my mighty riffle!! Darn!" He screamed in frustration, banging his head on the wall. "Although I really _really _want her dead… I… I just can't…Damn… I yearn for her death so much!! But, I just… just can't! DAMN!"

As _her _words kept playing repeatedly in his mind like a broken tape recorder, the more he can't kill his boiled blood very much hated Sherry.

_Please, I beg of you…don't put a single scratch on Akemi-neesan and Shiho-neechan!_

How can he even go against her words the second time…? He had already hurt her first Akemi- neesan…

She had said "please" after all… N one ever said "please" to the blonde before…

She was so gentle… she sounded so frail at that time…

Unlike Fortune, her second elder sister, would say…

_Get out of my life, Gin! And don't you DARE harm my sister, or else, I'll dam make sure that you are in that foul graveyard!!_

How can he even like a girl like her sister? Of course not, he wanted her dead; he liked someone else who was sweet, kind and gentle, someone who was not assertive.

Someone like…

Miyano Haruka…

And how can Haruka like him back if he killed her elder sister? He wouldn't have a chance, that's for sure. But, if he spared her sister, maybe, just maybe… she would actually love him back…

She likes Haruka because she doesn't fight back, she doesn't shout… She just bares the pain…

But the blonde promises to himself to bring her away from the dark…

Who knew that just a simple sweet girl like her can actually change the life of a murderer?

The blonde knew… of course. He was Haruka's first victim, and he wouldn't allow more to be under Haruka's spell, therefore, he must find her, must get her back, and must claim her his. Well then if she refuses, he will drag her back into the darkness once more.

As West Point thought that he was really going nuts indeed, he thought that it would be best if he left the high ranking blonde haired assassin alone for now, he seemed to be in his own world, in deep thought. He could get his cash some other time. And so, West Point turned around and headed again towards the small exit of that room.

The blonde looked at his back. "So, just take this cash. It's 9000 yen." He told him solemnly.

The man lighted up and turned around only to face the muzzle of the blonde's handgun.

"What--" The man was filled with great fear, as he trembled, he perspired in terror.

The blonde gave him his most evil smirk and said. "I'm sorry. Boss's order."

_I'm finding her soon, so, I no longer need your replacement of her, because, she's coming back to me, you are useless now, West Point. _

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The blonde loved seeing blood now, since, his food had already digested. He loves seeing death. He loves murder. Truly, he is the most cruel, insensitive and bad person in this whole universe. But… in spite his being… he could love?

A loud thud was heard when the poor man fell to the ground motionless…lifeless…headless…

He had received two shots on his head and it seems that the murderer of the victim still wasn't satisfied with the result and had to shoot him three times more on his neck area…

Thus, his head got dislocated from his body and flew of.

It was that gross of a scenario.

It was that brutal.

It was _very _bloody.

And, that, was Gin's doing. And no one else's.

And the payment?

Gin smirked while keeping 9000 yen in the pocket of his black leather jacket.

Another life was taken by that cold blooded murderer…

But, who knew that heartless killing machine could even feel love?

He was willing to give up everything, just for _her_ and that proves that, he, the wicked criminal of doom, really knew what _loving someone _meant.

_I sacrificed my mission… I sacrificed my pleasure to kill… I sacrificed my wanting to kill…_

_I did all of that…_

_Only for you…_

_Fortune…_

_Please come back to me…_

_You are my one and only fortune…_

_My one and only love…_

_I can't live without you…_

"Where's nii-san?" The deluded man asked the blonde for the fifth time today.

"I told you, didn't I? He's up in the skies now." The blonde replied. "Or maybe underground."

"Ah, so you mean to say that he is either on an airplane or mining underground, or…or a submarine, maybe?" The insane man asked him dumbly.

"You really are incompetent." The blonde stated.

"Huh?"

Exasperated, the blonde yelled. "He's dead alright?! He's dead! I killed him you dumbo!! I killed him!!"

Hearing that, he broke down bad. The screw in his head loosened again as his craziness began to activate.

He screamed like a derange lunatic.

He was, then again, sent to the mental institute.

It was cold; the smell of alcohol and medicine and gauze tape filled the air. The window was foggy, although winter was nearly ending. The room was large, in there was a huge med with three blue blankets and two bright green pillows. The floor was newly mopped and the scent of floor wax still accumulated the room's air. All the bed sheets were newly washed since the smell of detergents could still attract one's nose.

In the clean, neat bed laid there a frail girl, her hair was silky coffee brown with a highlight of blonde and the strands were scattered on the pillow in which she laid her head. The three comfy blankets on top of her small body made her feel warm and the other pillow with the bright green pillowcase was beside her, like a night toy, as she embraced the second pillow subconsciously.

It was nighttime by now, outside the window, it was clearly seen that the sky was dark blue turning black. It might rain. Her detective friend went outside the nearby restaurant in order to buy some food for himself and buy some porridge and warm soup for her. He would be back roughly in about ten minutes.

The blonde didn't have much time. He had to do this mission for _her_.

He had less that ten minutes to complete this mission, therefore he sneakily opened the door of the patient's room and closed it ever so softly.

It was great timing that the girl was in deep sleep.

The blonde smiled, getting close to the girl and he thought.

_There is no need for a struggle after all. Continue to sleep peacefully._

The blonde opened the black briefcase in which a small injection laid waiting for him to use it.

He took the injection out from the suitcase and gently removed the tiny cover of the needle part of the injection and grinned.

_You better thank me for ending your misery, all thanks to your little sister._

He looked at the sharp needle of the syringe while slowly shaking a tiny reagent bottle. The bottle had a yellow fluid inside and it had a rubbery cover. Using the sharp end of the syringe, the blonde carefully pierced the rubbery cover of the vial and absorbed the fluid using the syringe. After, he kept the empty vial and started doing what he had come here for.

He found a small hole on the dextrose tube of the female patient and in was color pink. He knew that whatever liquid of fluid was in this tube would definitely go into her system. He smiled.

He punctured the pink hole to create an even larger hole, and when the long needle was inside the tube, he used all his might to press the syringe.

After seeing the yellow fluid running through her dextrose tube all together with her other medicinal fluids, he knew that the yellowish icky substance would reach her heart sometime this midnight. The yellow substance worked slower than the usual but he gave her the full dosage, so, he was sure that it would definitely work. It would reach her bloodstream in a minute or two now. And, with that, he smiled in satisfaction and turned his heels, walking away from her.

He kept the entire empty reagent bottle, the empty injection and the needle cover all back in his black briefcase.

_At last, my work here is done._

He held the doorknob only to turn it open and make a small squeaking sound; he had to be careful of the nurses now. He turned his head towards the direction of the girl and said.

"Have a good sleep, Sherry."

And with that, he walked away the Beika Hospital while smoking a cigarette butt, holding the black piece of luggage which swayed from his hand movements.

"What in the world is going on here? Have people these days gone mad??"

Shinichi asked himself, shocked of the situation and happenings in his homeland, Japan. He was most especially shocked of this news that he was watching on the Nippon NHK TV station.

Luckily, he wasn't attacked by any of his fan girls, or fan gays even, since he was wearing a blue cap and shades as disguise.

_The famous detective Kudo Shinichi sent Ogurishi Izumi, a man in his thirties into a local mental care center due to serial killing roughly two and a half years ago. Then, Ogurishi Izumi, the deluded man who was just set free last week because he had been cured from his mental disorder. However, he was sent back here again thins morning by a mysterious person because his insanity came back. Then, on the same afternoon when he was brought to the mental care, his body was found dead by a male nurse in his room in the mental hospital with two shots in the heart. Until now, the Japanese police team is still searching for the murderer of Ogurishi Izumi. That's the latest headlines now on the news._

"What the…?" Shinichi expressed while he was watching TV while waiting for his ramen, porridge and soup order in a mini Japanese restaurant.

"Just a few days ago, that Izumi shot Shiho in the abdomen, and now… suddenly, he's on the headlines?!" He screeched in disbelief. "He's… he's dead already?! More importantly…"

Shinichi's eyes had his detective look back again.

"…who…who killed the poor guy?"

Shinichi still cares about Izumi a lot and doesn't hate him for what had happened to his Shiho-chan since he knew that he was mentally deranged in the first place.

He clenched his fists angrily, determined to find out the murderer of Izumi.

"Whoever that killer is, I'll find him for sure. There is only one truth!" Shinichi concluded.

After a few minutes of contemplating about the Izumi killing case…

"What's taking my ramen so long? The porridge and soup are getting cold!" He said to himself after realizing how long he'd been sitting down there in the restaurant chair.

He looked at his watch and saw. _45 minutes. This was supposed to be a fast- service restaurant. _He thought to himself.

Shinichi knew that leaving Shiho for too long as dangerous since someone might enter her unlocked room or she might get scared, seeing that she's all alone there in that dark room.

Her room was not to be locked since he knew that the nurses had to go in the room too to give medicines and Heiji, Ran, Professor Agasa and Kazuha might pay a visit to her.

Yep, they know Shiho as 'the new transfer student in Teitan High School' now.

Shinichi stood up and went to the waitress and asked kindly.

"Um… sumimasen, Miss, but, how many more minutes do I have to wait for the ramen?"

"What ramen?" The waitress asked surprised.

"Oh, I'm referring to the ramen that I ordered for takeout." Shinichi reminded the waitress.

The waitress spoke up.

"Ramen? You only ordered dumpling soup and porridge, sir. You didn't order ramen."

Shinichi began to protest that he DID in fact ordered the ramen, but, the waitress contradicted him and told him.

"You DIDN'T order any ramen, sir. And as proof…"

The waitress got the receipt and showed him as perfect truthful alibi.

Shinichi looked at his own receipt and finally remembered and realized that he DID NOT in fact ordered ramen. He now recalled…

_**Flashback…**_

"_I'll have 2 takeouts please, one bowl of porridge and one bowl of dumpling soup, please."_

"_What else, sir?"_

_Forgetting, he had said._

"_No." Shaking his head cheerfully, he continued. "That will be all for now, please." He smiled._

"_Okay. Your order is coming right up, sir!" The waitress said to him cheerfully._

_Shinichi simply nodded._

_**End of Flashback…**_

"Argh!! Darn it! Now I remember!" Shinichi exclaimed, embarrassed. He whined and complained to himself. "I didn't order any ramen after all. Aw…I sat here for 45 minutes waiting for nothing!! Aw! Darn, it is so unfortunate for me to be so forgetful!! DAMN!!"

The waitress said to him, suppressing a laugh due to his funny actions. "Don't worry, sir, ramen only takes five minutes to prepare here."

Hearing this, Shinichi forgot all his frustrations and sighed happily. "Thank goodness."

"So, would that be beef, pork, chicken or fish ramen, sir?" The waitress asked him while holding up a ball pen and a piece of paper.

Shinichi decided carefully in his mind when he remembered _that time…_

_**Flashback…**_

"_Muslims don't like to eat pork. I myself don't like much pork." Ai told Conan._

"_Why?" Conan raised a brow at her._

"_Cause…" She explained. "Pork comes from pigs and pigs are dirty."_

"_Only Muslims believe in that, Haibara." Conan protested._

"_No, Kudo. Scientifically, I believe that pork is indeed dirty." Ai answered._

'_Why?" Conan asked curiously._

"_You sure do have lots and lots of questions, don't you?" Ai commented sarcastically._

"_Yeah, so?" Conan begged to disagree with her. "What's wrong to ask?"_

"_Don't you know that curiosity kills the cat?" Ai stated._

"_I'm not a cat." Conan replied simply._

"_Fine." Ai said. "I believe that pigs are dirty since they are omnivores, they'd eat anything in this world. They'd eat manure, worms, leftovers of people, mud, anything, absolutely anything…" She explained. "That makes them more prone to streptococcus bacteria and lethal intestinal diseases. Therefore, it's really best to avoid eating pork. Besides, it has lots and lots of fat; it's really bad for the health."_

"_How about eating chicken?" Conan asked her._

"_Chicken is just the same as pigs. They are omnivores and what's worst, they are prone to birds' flew and they can very well transmit that to us humans. Besides, chickens eat worms, live worms, don't you know? We might get tapeworms." She warned._

"_Well, what about fish?" Conan asked._

"_Might as well not eat that too, although fish is one of the better types of meat, it's really expensive and…" She looked at him sarcastically. "…ever heard of red tide? That only affects fishes in seas. This goes the same for seafood like squid, shrimps, lobsters and crabs. They are all expensive and all are prone to red tide effects. Not only that, many are allergic to seafood, that includes me too. I don't know if you're allergic to them too but it is best not to try your luck and eat seafood since you might develop an allergy. Besides, many people around the world use dynamite fishing and all different kinds of illegal fishing methods, they can cause fishes to become poisonous so you can never really be sure about the safety of eating fish. And the boat and large ships also bring some oil spills in the country and that will make fishes…"_

_Conan cut of her sentence and said._

"_Okay. Okay. I know now, fish or any other seafood isn't that safe to eat either. Then, what about beef? I bet you can't give a single bad thing about cows." Conan rolled his eyes, challenging the great Haibara Ai._

"_Idiot." Ai told him. "Do you know that Jewish people don't eat beef?" She said._

"_Yeah, but that doesn't have any scientific basis, you know." Conan reminded her._

"_Oh, yes there is." Ai said._

"_Oh? What is it?" Conan asked._

"_Mad cow disease. And cows have one of the most numbers of ascaris growing inside them."_

_Ai answered intelligently._

"_What's ascaris?" Conan asked._

"_Kind of like tapeworms. It's a type of worm that is a parasite in the bodies of animal and as well as humans. It will make you weak and malnourished since it eats up everything that's in your stomach. They multiply, you know, Kudo, that's why ascaris is so dangerous. If there are too many of those worms inside your stomach, you will look worst that a nine month pregnant woman."_

_Ai informed him._

"_So, what should I eat?" Conan asked her.  
_

"_That's simple." Ai said to him in the form of advice. "Eat vegetables."_

"_Aren't growing children supposed to eat protein?" Conan asked her._

"_First of all, you're lucky since you're not a real growing kid. You don't have to intake that much protein anymore since you did that already in your younger years. I know I did, and that's why I'm really healthy now. In addition to that, I know that protein can help repair our damaged skin tissues so we really have to intake lots of protein. But, we are fortunate as humans since we have milk, cheese and butter which are all rich in not only protein but calcium as well. So, I suggest that you just get yourself a balanced meal. Eat well by eating vegetables and a little carbohydrate so that you won't grow so fat and drink lots of milk. Everything clear to you now?"_

"_Man, I was just asking you if what should I eat for tonight and it's as if you have given me a good one hour long scientific lecture already, Haibara." Conan commented._

"_Sorry." Ai said. "This is just how I am." _

"_And I like it, I learned so much from you." Conan agreed._

_Ai just smiled back at him._

_**End of Flashback…**_

"I'll be having none of the above." Shinichi told the waitress.

"Then, what will you order?" The waitress asked.

Shinichi smiled warmly while remembering Haibara's long lecture to him that day almost a year ago.

He will apply what he has learned from Ai.

"I'll be having vegetable salad, sushi and Soya milk instead, please."

**End of Chapter 2 of Theme 1**

Domo arigatou gozaimasu, minna-sama!!

Thank you very much, everyone!!

Please review… the submit review button is lonely once more…

Thanks to those who liked the story, who reviewed, and who will review.

Jyaa, ne!

See you guys in my next update!

Three chapters more to go!

Yours truly,

(Your aspiring author/writer)

- Miyano Ran (MR-chan) XD

Time Started: August 17, 2008 3:20 pm Sun. (this was when mom came home from Thailand)

Time Ended: August 21, 2007 12:48 pm Wednesday going to Thursday midnight (Wednesday: half day in school due to typhoon early Thursday: almost sleeping time for me)

Time Recomposed and Added: August 21, 2007 Thursday afternoon 3:15 pm

Time Proofread: August 21, 2007 Thursday afternoon 3:35 pm


	3. Chap3 of Theme1

Disclaimer: What? This annoying thing again…? Oh well… I don't own Detective Conan… Damn… Hahaha! ) Joke…tsk…tsk…tsk… I just said a bad word… Gomenasai desu!

Fiction rating: Most definitely T

First of all, I really want to apologize for the very long wait of this chapter. Thank you for your consideration. I was having a huge Chinese test, a lot of homework and a science research so please understand. I got high fever recently and got sick, too. So, I had no time to post this story even if this was finished a long time ago.

Um, there is one part here that is slightly…um, er… pervertish… That's not even a word, is it? Haha. Well, it's kinda pervert-like… Sorry, couldn't resist! It's still wholesome, though; it's supposed to be humor. XD Shinichi and Shiho moments!

Ah, yes… and, there's a conversation there of Shinichi and Shiho which talked about Gin's attempts of hurting Sherry. It's kinda sad and so I don't want to let young readers read this, it's for your own good, trust me.

Other authors don't even put a warning about what kind of scenes will come, it's a good thing that I do, cause, I care for the innocent minds of the future generation… Yep, I feel that this world's current generation is definitely getting WORST. Cause: definitely BAD influence!

Genre: Mystery/ Drama (slight humor and a tad bit pervert-like and as well as angst - you know I love that!! - but rest assured that it's still wholesome)

Read, Review and Enjoy!

**Theme 1: Sacrifice**

**Chapter 3: Fortune**

"I got your call, Sakarano-san! I came here as quickly as I could!" Shinichi said while panting, wiping his sweat. "What happened to Shiho?!"

"About her recovery…" The female doctor glanced sideways. "I…I…"

A gush of worry went through Shinichi as he heard the doctor speak. "Is Shiho okay?!"

In his mind, he prayed for the best. But, was God on his side? He didn't know.

"There is no need to worry." The doctor told him, calming him down. "I just can't believe this."

"Can't believe what?" Shinichi asked, confused.

"Just the other day, we found out that there were increased traces of poisonous substances flowing in her bloodstream, which could have caused her death within thirty-six hours! This time, the poison was more lethal than the first one found in her body two days ago. Isn't it that Izumi was the madman who shot Miyano-san? As I told you, we were able to cure that first poisoning of Izumi with only slight syringe fluids, since it was just a mild poison. Well, as we have theorized, I think that Izumi placed some poisonous powder on those bullets, therefore she got poisoned which was what caused her headache and her terrible screaming, but, apparently, just the other day, a new kind of poison entered her body again."

The doctor told him as he listened carefully.

"We knew that after having a blood test. Sorry, we didn't inform you… We informed her about it, but, oddly enough, she took it quite lightly and it is as if she was expecting this to happen to her, she took the information as if she knew why she was poisoned… She requested us not to inform you about this as well… It couldn't have been food poisoning, I can tell that much. It was too lethal for a simple food poisoning that poison, whatever it is, was meant to kill, period. I didn't tell you first since I wouldn't want you to worry. I was planning to give her some medication this morning to delay the poison from spreading throughout her body before we could find the antidote but then… But then…"

"But, then what…?" Shinichi asked with apprehension. "Did her condition get worse?"

"You're really starting to become a pessimist like her, you know." The doctor chuckled and with that Shinichi kept quiet, waiting for her to continue. "We, together with the nurses' staff, examined her thoroughly again today…and…"

Shinichi's heart was beating as the suspense on Shiho's condition was now slowly being explained to him. His chest tightened.

"…she…she got much better…unexpectedly, this wasn't supposed to happen, but…she recovered quickly, as if there was no poison in the first place and we didn't even give her any medication… She miraculously got well for no reason, her body was filled with poison just yesterday afternoon… and now, now, her body has no trace of poison… It's too good to be true…"

Shinichi released a breath of relief and his eyes gapped wide open. "H…How…?" He stammered.

"That's the thing, Kudo-san. We don't know. It's a miracle. I'm happy for her, but, I can't help but think of the mystery that lies behind her recovery. It's simply impossible that the poison will just be killed by your own white blood cells and leaving you all healthy and well. I, as a doctor, don't understand what on earth happened to her…"

The female doctor bit the tip of her thumb and fiddled her hair with the other.

"Say…" The doctor started to say. "Did you give her anything…?"

"No, Sakarano-san." Shinichi answered, shaking his head from side to side. "Nothing intentional, that's for sure. I didn't give her anything except for a bowl of dumpling soup and some porridge the other night, and water of course. That's all, I think."

"I see, this has been a very bizarre and strange happening, however, please don't tell this to anyone. I wouldn't want the medical doctors, interns, midwives and residents to make a fuss out of this incident, so, please, let's just keep this a secret. Although I'd really like to find out what really transpired out of my selfish curiosity, I don't think I can investigate on this matter any further." The doctor explained. "The important thing here is that she is safe. She can be discharged tonight."

A small smile danced on his lips.

"Yeah, okay." Shinichi nodded. "My lips are sealed."

"Um…excuse me…Is this Teitan High School?" A beautiful girl about 17 years old asked a brunette haired student from the said school while pointing at the place.

The seventeen year old girl had beautiful silky dark blonde hair with hair length reaching the middle of her shoulder and her hair was layered, the shortest hair strand until her ear level and the longest hair strand until her middle shoulder level which was nicely combed and very smooth. She was also wearing a matching pink hair band with a huge cute blue baby ribbon attached to the hairpiece and wearing that, she looked simply gorgeous.

Her eyes were of beautiful light cerulean blue color while her nose was high bridged. Her skin was very fair milky white with not a trace of blemish and her smile was simply sweet and lovely. She had rosy pink cheeks that matched her blood red lips.

She was wearing a sleeveless light fuchsia pink shirt with colorful buttons and wore a nice light green miniskirt that reached up to the middle of her thigh. Wearing the miniskirt, her beautiful slender creamy white legs were exposed although her white skin from her knee up until her feet was all covered with a pair of jet black stockings. This indicated that she was a conservative girl. At the end of her miniskirt, there was a long pretty blue lace attached to it and she also wore a pair of cute orange shoes with a yellow flower sticking out as prior to its design. The heels were about more or less one inch in height.

Ahhh…… a vibrant colored violet sweater was tied around her slim waist as well. That girl was truly very ravishingly stunning and truly, any male would be captivated by her immense attractiveness. Boys would be swarming all over her if it weren't for the constant glare she gave them.

Yes, she seemed sweet and gentle, but, if boys tried to get near her, she'd scare them away with her frown and deadly stare. She didn't like men who followed and stalked her around, she wanted to be alone, and she only wanted… her neechan.

She hated men, it is because, the person that she feared most… was a male. She still had these traumas up until today whenever she sees men attracted to her, she fears close contact. She fears closeness, she fears intimacy, and she fears relationship.

She vowed to herself once that she would only be open to others when her neechan started to do the same. And, that was a promise… a promise MUST NOT be broken, she thought.

Yeah, she'll put that in mind!

The reply of the brunette haired lady disrupted her musings and brought her back to reality.

"Sou desu…" The brunette nodded kindly. "I'm a student here; my name is Mouri Ran desu… please to meet you…I'm a nineteen year old third year graduating student of this school…"

"Um…ah, my name is Miya… ah…no, um… I'm Saegusa Rina, seventeen years old. I'm from um…America… I'm a half Japanese, half American- British… it's a pleasure to meet you too." The girl smiled faintly, shaking hands with the other teenager.

"Oh, so that's why you have such beautiful features!" Ran exclaimed. "You are very pretty."

"Arigatou…" Rina smiled while blushing heavily. "Um, may I ask you something?" Rina asked.

"Yeah, sure, what is it?" Ran smiled. She was a girl who wants to help everyone in need.

"Say… Do you; um… maybe have a student here named Miyano Shiho?" Rina asked.

"Why yes! Miyano Shiho is it?!" Ran asked, suddenly jumpy and all excited.

"Yeah." Rina nodded, seeming very happy to hear her response.

"In fact, she's my classmate actually. She's this cold girl who's really close with my childhood friend Kudo Shinichi… you know, the Great Detective of the East?" Ran told her.

Rina nodded while smiling.

"Miyano-san is slightly detached from society, but, she's opening up now and she's making friends with me and my two other girl friends."

Ran smiled, explaining.

"She's the smartest student in our batch and she's excellent in the field of Math and Chemistry and she's the top of our class, although, she's been to an accident lately and I've been visiting her a few times and Shinichi's gone to take care of her."

Rina's eyes had sadness and worry when she heard that Miyano-san got into an accident. Seeing this, Ran inserted to tell her something, since she was a ray of sunshine and optimism.

"Don't worry, Saegusa-san, But, I heard that she made a full recovery and she'll be back to school tomorrow." Ran said, cheering her up.

Rina sighed in relief and smiled.

Rina wanted to make sure that this Miyano Shiho was the same person as prior to her search.

And so she asked.

"Does she have short strawberry blonde hair? Is she half white American-British like me? And… is she about um… two inches taller than you?" Rina questioned.

"Yes! Oh yes! Yes she is!" Ran nodded. She added. "In fact, she looks just like you, Saegusa-san."

Ran pointed out how similar she and Miyano looked like.

Rina laughed slightly upon hearing that.

"And Miyano Shiho is really a very beautiful woman. She's turning 20 years old I think, but, I haven't asked for her birthday yet, she's secretive with that, she wouldn't even want to let Shinichi know…" Ran giggled.

_August 29… _Rina thought and smiled.

"Miyano Shiho is truly very pretty, many boys adore her." Ran said while grinning.

Rina suppressed a laugh. _She wouldn't like that. She hates men._

"Say…um, who exactly are you?" Ran asked. "Why do you know much about Miyano-san?"

"I'm a childhood friend of hers. We've separated since before when I went to America and now that I'm back here in Japan, I've gone looking for her. I asked about her being in this school just in case. I'm not even sure if she remembers me anymore." Rina said to Ran, ginning from ear to ear. "Please don't tell her about me, I want to surprise her, you see."

"How nice!" Ran stated. "Sure! I won't tell, promise."

Ran heard the second bell rang and she was alerted. She looked at her watch.

"Uh-oh…I'm going to be late for class if I don't enter soon!" Ran told her. "Nice meeting you!"

"Yeah, you too!" Rina waved energetically. "Bye!"

"Bye, see you soon!" Ran replied while running towards that school doors.

Rina hid a small smirk and whispered.

"I'll be seeing you again, Sherry, finally."

"Shiho, you know who did this to you, don't you!?" Shinichi asked her worriedly while shaking her.

"Damn it Kudo, stop pestering me!" Shiho groaned in exasperation. "I'm trying to get some rest here."

Kudo has been interrogating her for the past twenty minutes already.

"Well, that's because you won't answer me." Shinichi said as he stopped shaking her.

Shiho kept silent, her eyes focused on the blank white wall behind him. She decided to spill the beans. Besides, Shinichi wouldn't like secrets, not that she really cared… But this was important.

"If what the doctor said was true, that the first poison was in fact from a poisonous powder in Izumi's bullets, then, my second poisoning wasn't just the other day…

Her voice trailed off while she hardened her grip on the blanket.

"What?" Shinichi asked, gasping to find out the unrevealed truth.

"I got poisoned the second time… right before my scream…" He said softly.

"What do you mean?" Shinichi asked with concern.

"I didn't scream because of the headache, I screamed because…"

Shinichi looked at her eyes, waiting for her to continue.

"…I was injected." She closed her eyes hard. Her eyes were shivering quickly.

"What?!" Shinichi cried, very taken aback. "Was it after I left the room to get you some bandages?"

Shiho slowly nodded her head.

"Who…" His voice grew stronger. "Who did this to you, Shiho?! Who?!" His jaw gritted in anger. He was now very mad.

Shiho told him. "I don't know that guy… He… he injected me with a needle… It seemed as if he hid under my bed the whole time and he was waiting for you to go out of the room…then…then when you left…"

Her voice wasn't like Shiho at all, it sounded so frail and terrified of the world around her.

"…he…got up from under my bed and held me on the wrist… and… he injected me…and that's when I screamed…"

She explained. "And, when you came, he climbed out the window… I don't know how he did that, though."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this after you were conscious again, Shiho-chan?"

"I didn't want you to worry, Kudo-kun…" She said apologetically.

"You should have told me this!" Shinichi exclaimed.

"I'm sorry." Shiho said, apologizing.

"Wait… if you shouted because of the needle, then, the headache…?"

Shinichi was beyond confusion. The term confusion was a term too light even to describe what he was feeling at the moment. He was more than confused. He was perplexed. No, even more than that… he was baffled.

"Ah…yes, It was just a coincidence when I felt the effect of the first poison right before the second poison was given to me… my body was able to handle and by blood cells somewhat resisted the effects of the powdered poison though…however… "

"You mean to say…" Shinichi started saying as he was catching on with understanding the happenings.

"Yes."

Shiho nodded, as if she could read his mind, but, not really, all she did was to assume that they thought of the same conclusion.

"I didn't faint because of my headache, I didn't faint because of the first powdered poison because as I said, that first poison was very mild and my body easily responded and handled it well, but, I fainted because I couldn't resist the effects of the second poisoning that man had injected on me…I fainted because of the second poisoning."

Shiho concluded finally and good enough, that was where Shinichi was getting to as well.

"I see… then, that poison must be very lethal, right?" Shinichi questioned.

"Yeah." Shiho nodded in agreement. "I suppose so."

"Well… then, do you have any idea who he might be…?" Shinichi asked anxiously.

"I'm positive…he's one of _them…_" Shiho said. "Although, he could be a new member since I don't sense any aura from him and I don't recognize him. Usually, if a member is nearby, I can sense it, but he was hiding under my bed the whole time and I didn't even notice his presence. That means that he is a new member and they used him so that I wouldn't be acquainted with him."

"That's impossible, Shiho."

Shinichi laughed, refusing to believe.

"We brought down the syndicate two years ago. They're gone. They must be all in jail now or probably dead even. The syndicate is out of our lives, they're not here anymore, stop deluding yourself into thinking that the Kuro no Soshiki actually still exists until today. You must just be paranoid!"

Shinichi reassured her.

"But, there's no mistake about it… I'm sure, it's _them_…" Shiho assured. "It can't be anyone else…"

"How are you so sure?" Shinichi asked.

"Because…" Shiho gripped her bed sheets while staring at him with serious blue eyes.

"Because what?" Shinichi asked with concern on his tone of voice.

"He called me…"

Shinichi listened as a tremendous heavy atmosphere filled the air around them.

Shiho never imagined that she would encounter that name again… and she hated it. She never heard this name for over two years now… and hearing this name gave back painful memories of her dark hidden past.

She looked down, eyes avoiding Shinichi's eye contact, since she didn't want to see his reaction. She opened her mouth and she spoke.

"He called me _Sherry_."

Shinichi's eyes widened.

"No way…… It can't be…"

_Fortune… when will you return to me? _

_I miss you so…_

_I need you…_

_I yearn for you…_

I lo…

Suddenly, Gin's thoughts were interrupted by Vermouth who came banging his desk with her hands, asking in a rush.

"Damn it, woman! Leave me alone! You interrupted my thoughts just now!" Gin yelled madly.

"Whatever." Vermouth replied, not at all caring. "I came here to ask you something important. This concerns our mission, Gin." Then suddenly, she asked. "Have you killed Sherry?" Vermouth was serious in her voice.

"Ah…well," Gin stammered. "Plans have changed, Vermouth." He told her while chewing his cigarette, not seeming to face Vermouth, ignoring her presence.

"What do you mean by 'PLANS HAVE CHANGED'?" Vermouth asked angrily.

Gin sighed as he started making up excuses prior to the changed plans.

"Sure, we just escaped from prison about a week or two ago…"

Gin told her while getting hold of another one of his favorite cigarettes, the Fortune brand.

"…I was thinking, wouldn't it be more beneficial for the organization if we kept Sherry alive, then kill Kudou, then, ask Sherry to come back to us to work with Fortune and their parents?"

"What? Are you crazy? The more the family members stick together, the more they can stand up to us and the more they will have courage to escape and bring down the organization since Elena, Haruka, and Atsushi, those three weren't discovered to be a part of the organization and they weren't brought to prison, unlike us. And we _lied _to Sherry since childhood, remember that. She will hate the organization even more if we told her that her family is still alive, and the Miyano sisters might gang up on us, too!"

Vermouth screeched at the thought of it.

"Besides, Fortune's been missing for over two years now."

"I will find her." Gin said coldly.

There was silence.

A puff of smoke from the Fortune cigarette emerged within the air around them.

A sigh.

"Gin, what happened to you?" Vermouth asked, smirking, although concerned and curious at the back of her head.

"What the hell do you mean?" Gin asked; seemingly mad about everything in the world.

"You seem to be more… um… less cold. You seem… soft… It's not like you at all, Gin."

Vermouth warned him.

"A member of the organization should know no emotion; all our emotions must be shut down."

"I know that, stupid ass head." Gin muttered coldly, drinking his liquor.

"Stupid ass head?!" Vermouth laughed a bit. "Now that's more like the Gin I remember! You've recovered! Welcome back to the evil group!" Vermouth chuckled evilly.

Examining his actions again, Vermouth said to herself while smirking.

_No… You've really changed, Gin. Who changed you…?_

Gin thought to himself.

_Damn it… Fortune is the one who changed me…_

"Sometimes… I wonder how our children are doing."

A Japanese man in his thirties said to his wife with so much sadness while mixing chemical compounds inside a dark and quiet laboratory. Tears were welling on the sides of his eyes now as he thinks of his three daughters.

"Fate is just so cruel to us…" His wife, a beautiful British woman in her thirties sobbed while helping him with the mixture.

"For more that twenty years we have been slaves of _them_. We've never seen our children, although only our youngest daughter knows about our existence, our other two children never even knew we were alive all this time in the first place. And…and three years ago… our first born was murdered… but, I didn't lose hope, thinking that someday somehow, we'd meet our other two daughters again…"

He lowered his head.

"But, I guess I was wrong… We might as well die here old… with no children…"

He kept on crying, he felt so miserable, as if his life had no worth at all.

Sometimes, I wonder… will we ever be free from them… will we ever have a normal life with our children…? Will we ever be like normal parents, like others… go to malls together… shopping as a family? Praying at temples, just like a normal regular Japanese family… How nice would that be…?"

The man broke down to tears; he couldn't hold his pain any longer.

"Sometimes… I just wish that I'd just die, vanish from this hateful and vengeful world… This suffering is just too much… It seems like… what we dream of everyday… is nothing but impossible fantasies…" He cried and cried.

"My dear… we mustn't lose hope…" His wife cried, encouraging him. "Someday……"

Her husband clenched his fists.

"We… we can't even kill ourselves… we can't even do anything freely except to talk…"

He wept. "At least, they gave us that much freedom… to be able to talk to each other without any hearing devices attached to us…"

"Our life was so beautiful before, honey, but, now, it is the worst life anyone could possibly have… I'd rather be a beggar in Africa…" His pretty British spouse told him.

"I hate this… everyday our necks are locked inside this… this device…" The man cried. "Father made this…"

He said those words filled with hatred and sorrow while trying to pull of the metallic device wrapped around his neck.

The awful metallic device wrapped around their necks have been manipulating, controlling, and torturing them for almost twenty years now. Once someone wearing the metallic device locked in one's neck tries to suicide with a less painful method, this… this device, will make the death even more brutal and painful. So, therefore, no one wearing that high-tech metallic device even dare to try to kill themselves, not unless they have gone to the brim and were left with no choice.

They were _almost _up to the brim.

The reason why they could never sneak out and talk to their daughters is because of… the powerful metallic devices that held their weak and fragile necks all the time.

Even though the organization has been gone for two years… and they just escaped jail two weeks ago, the organization was still able to get control of them because of _West Point…_ that damn new member who was just killed by Gin recently.

When the organization was in jail, _West Point _and his other little comrades took care of the couple. The organization believed that they shouldn't let the couple go, believing that they would be able to escape jail someday.

And they were right… They just escaped prison two weeks ago.

However, their youngest daughter was good at escaping, and so, half a year ago before the organization was put down by Kudo… their daughter was able to escape the syndicate after she received a hard and painful slap from Gin on her cheeks.

She vowed to her parents that she will return once she finds her second elder sister, who was also able to escape from their grasp, not knowing about the family who looked out for her from behind, as for her eldest sister; unfortunately, she had died a year before her escape.

But… then why was security so loose on their youngest daughter who was one of the organization's captives? Well, first, when she escaped, she was just about fourteen and a half years old; she was still a minor, unlike her second elder sister who was about sixteen to seventeen years old at that time.

And, Gin seems to be very fond of her and her beauty, so, he wasn't strict on her, unlike the harsh treatment that Gin gives to the other sibling. Gin cared about the girl and so he wasn't as harsh to her as compared to her other sister.

"I'm sorry, I…I…you, you should have a better life now, why did you choose me…over…over…him…?"

"That's because I love you, sweetheart. Remember…not even death can take away my love for you… what more this small pain…" She said strongly although she was already crying and crying hard.

"I'd rather have my lifetime suffering and crying _with _you than to live a life _without _you."

The woman told him while weeping.

"Yeah, Elena, but, if you hadn't chosen me… none of these would happen to you… to our three kids… it's my entire fault…" He cried. "I'm so sorry… If you had picked _him _then you'd have a happy and prosperous life right now…"

Note: Anata can mean either "you" or "my love"; but in this case this means "my love"

"No, anata…" The British woman smiled affectionately. "Life will never be happy _without _you… I don't care even if I live a miserable life… as long as; you live this wretched life _with _me…"

"Thank you…arigatou na…" The man cried.

"Hey! You have to be careful of that (Sodium Chloride) NaCl, Atsushi! Handle it carefully and mix it with K (potassium) while boiling it on the burner! And do not burn yourself with the (muriatic acid, hydrochloric acid) HCl!"

A/N: Chemistry! My favorite course! K, HCl and NaCl are the element symbols for the following chemicals.

"Oh yeah, right… sorry…" The man stammered, clutching the beaker tight, grinning at her lovely wife.

He was temporarily wiping his tears while his wife was wiping hers.

Temporarily?

Yes, they knew that they would cry again later… if they thought about each others' sentiments… But, for now, they had to do the work first. The couple cries everyday of their lives. There was no day that they didn't shed a tear. For the couple in the laboratory, crying is a habit, crying is their daily ritual, crying is normal… perfectly natural for them.

Yes, perfectly natural because…

Their lives were perfectly damaged and naturally horrible…

So, they had the right to cry, right?

Yeah, I thought so, too.

While the couple was concentrating on their scientific experiment and deep in thought about grief and so on……

Suddenly, with no warning…

A loud and noisy girl came barging in their chemistry laboratory room.

The chemistry laboratory equipments were shaking and unstable due to the sudden barging in of the pretty girl.

"Mom! Dad! I have returned!!" The dark blonde girl with cerulean blue eyes opened the room with full force… seemingly excited. "I've been finding you two in the physics lab and the biology lab!! I thought you two were at the physics lab, how ironic, you guys are just here in the Chem. Lab after all!" The girl screamed with happiness.

Her face was smiling and it didn't look like a facade at all… usually, she just fakes her smile to fool Gin and please him. But this time, her smile was natural and she was very happy. She gagged for air and panted loudly for oxygen while wiping her sweat all over her body.

"It's been long since I saw you, my dear daughter!"

The woman exclaimed, wanting to hug her tight, however, the metallic chains that were around their slim necks prevented them to do so, and the girl knew that much. Sadness gushed through the girl and her eyes became slightly sad, seeing her parents suffer with those metallic chains that bound them to the wall. But, she knew that their twenty years of suffering would be over soon.

"What happened, my dear?" The man asked the girl.

"I have great news, mommy, daddy!" The girl shouted happily. "You will be out of your chains soon enough! We will soon escape the syndicate!"

"What is it, sweetheart?" The British woman asked her daughter. "What do you mean by that?" She asked once more; highly perplexed.

"Don't delude yourself, sweetie… We can never escape from here… Not without help…" The man reminded her sadly with melancholy.

"I've found the missing piece of the puzzle!" The girl yelled. "At last, I've found just the help we need, daddy, mommy!"

"You don't mean…" The father was trembling in his words as he thought of the possibilities.

"The last Miyano! The last Miyano!" The girl told them while prancing around with joy.

"What…?" The British woman stammered with widened eyes.

"No way…" The father gasped, still in the state of shock. "You don't mean…"

"Are you serious?!" Both parents suddenly shouted in unison, coming out from their shocked selves.

"Yes, mom, dad. I have found the person that we need the most!" The girl said with pride.

"Oh…" The mother expressed. "…my God…" The father of the girl continued, just as stunned.

"We never knew it would be even possible to find……" The voices of both parents trailed off while absorbing the surprising truth.

"Yes."

The girl said, this time, she turned very serious.

"I'm not joking, mom, dad."

With a smirk she told them with great pride.

"I know where Sherry…"

She rephrased and shook her head, smiling.

"…Shiho- neechan is."

The couple's eyes widened, joy and happiness were painted across their facial expression.

"Shiho-chan…" The man whispered happily.

"We will finally get to meet you…" The woman added with the same amount of joy.

**End of Chapter 3…**

**To be continued…XD**

I worked hard on this, you've gotta review guys! And sorry to HopeGrace1920, I can't read your messages now, exams and research papers are pilling up… I'll read them when my schedule is free (which is rare in an academic year) although, I'll try to read them. There are so many of them…


	4. Chap4 of Theme1

Disclaimer: DC bu shir wo te. Oh, yeah, that was in Chinese…here, in English--I don't own DC!

Genre: Mystery/Angst (slight humor)

Um, this is where the sad and the pervert part will start…

READ WITH ADULT GUIDANCE KIDS!-- it's a good thing I'm concerned for you, don't read stories that are not for your age level…please…I'm begging you, this world already has TOO MANY brainwashed youths. I don't need more, really…

Those who are above 13…well… just read, for the sake of reading, and DON'T even apply what you read here…clear? This is JUST a story.

**Theme 1: Sacrifice**

**Chapter 4: The Recovery**

The room was bright, the sun shining brightly outside the transparent window, blue birds were chirping, perched on a cherry blossom (Sakura) tree. The girl that lay on the bed used to hate brightness, she preferred to be in the darkness, however, two years have passed since then, and she learned to like the little light that the world offered, so she didn't mind.

Besides, her visitors were to arrive soon, so she better keep the room well-lit, as to not make it gloomy.

The door creaked open and three cute teenage girls emerged from the opened door.

_They're here… _She thought.

A/N: Tomodachi wa means "is friend" while watakushi no means "our"

"How are you, watakushi no tomodachi wa Miyano-san?!" The three girls perched in unison, greeting the patient that lied on the hospital bed.

Shiho gave a faint smile and said. "I'm fine, arigatou for coming, minna-sama."

"Here…" One of the girls said, reaching out a bouquet of flowers to her.

"Arigatou…" Shiho whispered happily. "Arigatou na…"

"Ne," Shiho started.

"Hmm…?" The girl asked, signifying her to go on.

Note: O' Tanjobi Omedetto Gozaimasu means happy birthday.

Literal meaning: congratulations on your birthday

"O' Tanjobi Omedetto Gozaimasu…" Shiho greeted softly while smiling.

"Arigatou…" Ran replied thankfully.

"Ie…Ie…" Shiho replied back, shaking her head from left to right.

"Um…where's Shinichi?" One of the girls who gave her the bouquet of flowers asked her.

Shiho smirked. "Mouri-san, Kudo-kun is out buying a birthday…"

Suddenly, Shiho was interrupted by a teenage boy sprung inside the room, gasping for air, not noticing the three visitors, he shouted in joy.

"Good news, Shiho-chan!" Shinichi yelled happily. "I finally bought a nice gift for Ran!"

Shiho smirked, thinking. _Anata itsumo itsumo baka dayone… _(You're always such an idiot)

"Baka." Shiho said. "Mouri- san is right in front of you!"

Shinichi turned tomato red upon realizing the three girls in the room, and with that, the five teens broke into laughter. They laughed in unison for a good five minutes. The room was filled with laughter.

"Just in time!" Shinichi laughed while scratching his head with embarrassment.

"So… what gift did you buy for me… tantei-san?" Ran asked him happily and jokingly while blushing. "It's my birthday today, you know." She said, poking him in the arm.

The remaining three girls, including the one who lay on the hospital bed, laughed out loud.

Yeah, they LOLed. Hahaha!

Shinichi's cheeks were painted bright vermillion red while his eyes were shaking unsteadily.

"Ohhh!! Ohhh!! The lovers!" The three girls perched in unison, teasing the two.

"I…I… bought this for you…" Shinichi stammered, giving her the box. "…I hope you like it."

"Happy birthday, Ran…" Shinichi blurted out, face increasingly red.

The box was very pretty. It had a huge pink ribbon that tied the box and the gift wrapper was bright with different colors.

Ran smiled thankfully and nodded. "Thanks, Shinichi." The recipient of the gift then got the box from his arms and smiled while gently opening the gift.

The three girls grinned, although one of them had slight jealousy deep inside.

"I wonder what is it, Sonoko." The other tied brunette haired girl asked the blonde with a bright blue hair band. "It's so exciting and romantic."

"What's in there?! Open in faster, Ran! Open it!" The blonde with a hair band yelled excitedly.

Shinichi just continued to blush while Shiho just smiled, also anticipating the gift in the box.

And so, upon opening the box, suddenly……

"Wow! Oh…wow!" Ran gasped in shock, amazement and happiness upon seeing the content of the pretty box. "Wow… this is so nice… I love this! Thanks! Thank you, Shinichi!" She screamed in gladness.

Shiho, Sonoko and Kazuha took a peep and awed when they saw the content.

"Oh… how I wish I owned that!" Sonoko exclaimed dramatically. "It's so kawaii!"

"Ah…I wish Heiji would give me that for my birthday!" Kazuha expressed. "It's simply lovely."

"That's what my neechan gave me on my birthday right before she died…" Shiho inserted gloomily.

"Oh…" The four expressed sadly and rubbed Shiho's back.

"It's okay…" Ran said comfortingly. "We're always here…"

"I'm sorry, Shiho… I didn't know…" Shinichi said apologetically. "I didn't mean to remind you of your departed sister."

"That's alright, daijoubu… minna-sama." Shiho said. "I'm fine…"

However deep inside… the hurt was still stabbing her in the heart……

_Neechan… oh, how I wish I can see you again…_ Shiho smiled bitterly. …_Even if just in a dream_

That night, Shiho was to be discharged from the hospital and Shinichi was packing up her things while she was sitting on the bed, resting.

"Um… ne, Shiho, where should I put this set of clothes? Should I place it inside the left side of the luggage bag or in the right?" Shinichi asked innocently while holding up a green plastic bag.

Upon seeing this, Shiho turned bright red.

"Hm… maybe I should open this…" Shinichi said innocently once more.

"No! Don't, stop, don't you _dare _open that plastic bag!" Shiho shouted.

"What's the problem? I'll just see what's inside so that I'll know where to segregate this one with the other bags." He stated while slowly untying it.

"NO!! I sad _DON'T_!!" Shiho screamed in horror. She quickly grabbed hold of a large pillow and hit Shinichi with it.

"Ouch… what was that for…?" Shinichi asked, groaning, when he went face first on the floor.

Shiho smirked. "You didn't want to listen to me." She said simply.

"What's up with that… woman?! That hurt a lot!" Shinichi groaned.

"Oh please, come on… You're such a baby, Kudo-kun. That pillow was just as light as a feather." She reminded.

"I _know _that." He said while rubbing his bruised chin. "But then that flying pillow caught me off balance and I dropped face first down the floor! Now _that _definitely hurt a lot, Shiho!" He said with a sarcastic remark. "Thanks a lot. May I remind you that I was _standing on a high chair_……damn it, would you just leave me alone, Shiho?!"

"Aw… why you're _very _welcomed." Shiho answered with equal sarcasm, maybe even more.

Shinichi simply groaned in frustration while Shiho laughed.

"What is in there anyway?" Shinichi asked, irritated. "You let me see you and your sister's pictures together; you let me see all your private stuff since we are the closest of friends. You even let me read your chemistry reports now… what's there to hide?"

"It's something you _wouldn't _want to know." She emphasized. "Now, just put that bag beside my clothes, and _don't _even look inside." Shiho warned.

However, the plastic bag was already slightly untied, just one gentle pull on the tie and Shinichi would find out the content that Shiho has been hiding from him.

Shinichi was a detective after all, so, who can blame him? He was very curious indeed. A detective investigates… they pry on other people's stuff, they are _curious… _

Yes, curiosity took over Shinichi and he pulled the string.

"Ah!!" Shinichi screamed when he saw then content and covered his eyes.

His nose was bleeding.

"KUDO! HOW DARE YOU! KUDO!!" Shiho shouted angrily while her face was tomato red.

"UNDERWEAR!!" Shinichi shouted, disgusted. "UNDERWEAR!! COLOR PINK!! PINK!!"

Shiho's face was really red now.

"Damn you, Kudo! You dare mess with me…?" Shiho smirked naughtily. "Alright…"

_**30 minutes later…**_

Shinichi had bruises from head to toe, and he had two black eyes.

His nose was still bleeding when an image of what he saw inside the plastic bag popped out in his head repeatedly. He felt pain and now, he was battered. He had injuries all over him.

"That will teach you to mess with me." Shiho said while smirking, leaving the half-dead Shinichi alone.

Shinichi's naughty side has triggered because he didn't tell Shiho this but he drank some alcohol this afternoon in a Japanese sushi restaurant with Hattori Heiji for fun. He didn't know that just a little amount of alcohol can make him this way.

"I never knew you wore pink… I thought you liked to wear black…Pretty…" Shinichi said teasingly while smiling naughtily. Shinichi laughed. "Strapless brassier……" He giggled. "Cup C… Cup C…" He chanted.

Shiho's eyes grew dark as she spun around to face the injured helpless Shinichi on the floor.

"Ah… so you want another lesson, do you?" She said angrily while getting her belt.

"Uh-oh…" Shinichi gasped.

"I'm going to whip you!" She yelled.

"NO!! NO!!" Shinichi screamed, asking for help. "NO!! HAVE MERCY, SHIHO!!"

Poor Shinichi…

If only he didn't drink this afternoon……

_Slap!_

Ouch!

And if only Shiho knew that he _was_ drunk, she would have understood his actions……

"There is no such thing as mercy…" Shiho said angrily while nearing him, getting ready to whip him with her very thick brown belt. "I cannot believe you'd say such thing!! You pervert! Damn you!"

"DAMN YOU PERVERT!" She screamed.

"I was just kidding!" Shinichi screamed, begging for mercy. He knew he went overboard just when he got to his senses.

"NNNNOOOOOOOOOO!!" Shinichi screamed in pain. "NOOOOOOO!!"

_Never mess with Shiho… _

_Curiosity DOES kill the cat…_

_Ouch! And it's really very terribly PAINFUL…_

Shinichi thought while suffering punches and kicks from Shiho.

She might look like an innocent weak girl, but, she can hurt men. Oh yes, she can hurt men _hard. _She makes you learn the _painful _way.

Yes, that is Miyano Shiho.

Former professional gun shooter, and…

Professional in judo, karate and martial arts…

Poor Shinichi, he never knew that about her, not until now.

Now, he has great fear of girls due to the beating that he attained from both Ran and Shiho.

Yes, he learned his lesson.

He will _never _mess with girls, especially _tough_ girls ever again…

_Note to self… Never EVER drink alcohol with Hattori again…DAMN! DAMN YOU HATTORI!!_

He screamed to himself inside.

The next day, Shiho and Shinichi decided to go back to school.

Shinichi went to Agasa hakase's house to pick Shiho up for school.

Ding Dong… Ding Dong…

Shinichi fixed his collar uncomfortably, waiting for Shiho to appear from the door.

"Coming!" Shiho called out.

She opened the door only to find the blushing Shinichi standing there outside, Shiho flinched.

"Well… if it isn't the pervert!" Shiho stated, smirking, when she saw Shinichi bow his head.

"About yesterday… Shiho… I'm really sorry…" Shinichi said, still bowing his head.

Shiho's eyes softened and hid a sincere smile. "It's alright, Kudo. Let's go, we'll be late for school." She told him.

Shiho was wearing her school uniform, a bright blue blazer, a bright green necktie, and a short blue miniskirt that reached three inches above her knees and was also wearing white socks that reached up until the middle of her lower legs.

A/N: In Japan, girls' school skirts are very short however, they wear very long socks. The length of the socks they wear usually identifies the conservatively of the girl. However, all of their skirts are extremely short. Why? Well, the Japanese are basically focused on fashion, that's about it. However in southern Asian countries, their skirts are very long, the skirts that they wear are very long that it would reach until three fourths of their lower leg! Yes, very long indeed while, in the boarding schools of England, the girls wear skirts up until their knees. And, Japan and the southern countries in Asia usually wear pleated skirts while in the private schools in America or England; they are more professional and wear straight, tube-like skirts, just like office women. Oh yeah, before I forget, Korean girls wear the same skirts as English girl students, too. Okay, this was just added information for you guys. Now, let's get back to the story. I'm terribly apologizing for this long A/N, I couldn't resist. LOL

Shinichi also wore his proper uniform.

Shinichi and Shiho were walking together side by side, still blushing from what had transpired yesterday. They were walking silently in the streets of Beika, they were still quite far from Teitan High.

"Why did you act like that anyway?" Shiho asked Shinichi softly, eyes never looking at him. She controlled herself but her cheeks heated.

"I'm really sorry, Shiho…" Shinichi looked downwards, ashamed. "I didn't mean to be a pervert; I know how much you hate men who abuse you."

Hearing this, Shiho's stomach tightened, reminiscing.

"Gin…" Shiho told him while shaking. "He always abused me…" She was so sad just then.

Hearing what she said, Shinichi felt a pang of sympathy towards this withdrawn girl who, on the outside, was very tough, cold and sarcastic, but, the truth is, deep inside, she was hurt, defenseless and sad. And that's why he vowed to protect her.

Shinichi put an arm around her. "What did he do, Shiho?" He asked, afraid of the answer.

"Not much. I stopped him. I fought back before he could kiss me." Shiho whispered, her tears already nearing the brim. She clenched her fists. "I don't want to tell you more."

"But, was he ever able to?" Shinichi asked with concern as he pressed on the topic while hugging her, in his mind, vowing that he will hurt Gin in every way if he tried to touch Shiho again. Yes, Shinichi was very protective of her. "If you tell it to me, you'll feel much better, promise. All your bad experiences with Gin, just let it out, and cry."

Although Shiho was the sarcastic type and the cold type who really didn't like to share her emotions, she knew that this was her opportunity to let out everything and she needed a shoulder to cry on. And she knew that although he has Ran, he will still always be there for her no matter what. She knew that he cared. And so she let her emotions out that was bottled up inside her for all the years of her miserable life.

Shiho shook her head. "I'd always push him before he could." She sobbed, wiping her tears.

_Poor girl… She's so hurt… _Shinichi thought with pity. He embraced her more as they walked.

"He did a lot of awful things to me. He… he would whip me with a belt… far stronger than what I did to you yesterday…" Shiho added. "By the way, I'm sorry about beating you up yesterday… it's…it's just that, I can't stand men who…who…" She was controlling another cry. She bit her lip.

"No. I'm sorry, Shiho. I should admit to you… I was drunk yesterday afternoon, I went with Hattori and we drank together in a sushi store…and that's why…" Shinichi explained. "I should have known better."

"Oh, so that's why…" Shiho nodded, understanding. "Don't drink anymore, okay?"

Shinichi nodded while smiling. "Promise, Shiho. Ran wouldn't like that either."

Shiho laughed slightly while imagining Mouri-san do the same to him one day.

"How often did Gin whip you with a belt?" Shinichi asked sympathetically.

"Almost everyday…" Shiho said as her head lowered. "It was painful… very painful…He'd hit me everywhere…knees, legs, arms, abdomen…everywhere… Everywhere, Kudo!! He'd hit me anywhere just for the heck of it! I didn't even do anything to him!"

Shinichi squeezed her hand. "I won't let you feel sad anymore, okay? I'm here."

Shiho cried, tears loosing their grip on her beautiful eyelids.

"I…I'm sorry, Kudo-kun…I didn't mean to cry like this……" Shiho stammered. "I'm sorry…"

"No, don't be… You must let it out, don't control it, Shiho…" Shinichi told him. "It's bad to control your emotions… Let them out…all your sadness… After all the things that you have gone through, you have a good reason to cry. In fact, I'm impressed that you were able to hold your tears for so long."

He looked at his watch, it was 5 minutes before class and they were still quite far from school. He decided that he should skip the first few classes and have a good talk with Shiho instead. Shiho needed him more than his perfect attendance.

Shinichi took out his mobile and dialed Ran's number.

"What are you doing?" Shiho asked in between sobs.

"I'm calling Ran, telling her we'll skip class." He said, putting his phone against his ear.

"What?! Are you crazy!? Why are we skipping classes?!" Shiho screeched.

"Because I'm going to have a good talk with you, and you can cry as much as you want."

Shiho truly was about to protest, but then, that idea just sounded so good. She was selfish once in a while and complied with his plan.

Shiho nodded, wiping the few traces of her dry tears on her face.

Shinichi smiled.

Ring…Ring…

"Hello?" Ran answered the phone. "Its a few more minutes till the bell, Shinichi. Where are you and Shiho? I was so worried, I, too, was about to call you just now."

"Oh, don't be worried, Ran. We're fine." Shinichi said. "We're going to skip this morning's classes. We'll arrive there by lunchtime."

"Why?" Ran asked. "Is she sick again?" Her voice was filled with worry.

"No, no. Don't worry about us. I just need to _talk _with Shiho." Shinichi explained. "She _really _needs me now. Understand?"

Ran understood for she too, more or less, knew what Shiho went through, since her childhood friend was involved with bringing down a syndicate two years ago.

"Wakata, Shinichi." She smiled. "Make her feel better alright. I expect her smiling when she comes to school this afternoon."

"Hai. Wakata Ran. Arigatou! Thanks for your consideration." Shinichi smiled.

"No problem, Shinichi. Take good care of her." She said with a tone of worry once more.

"You worry too much, Ran." Shinichi laughed.

RIIIIIING!!

"Oh, homeroom will start soon!" Ran said as she heard the school bell ring.

"Okay, bye! I don't want your phone to be confiscated for talking to me." Shinichi said.

"Okay, bye, take good care of her." Ran reminded again.

"Hai! Hai!" Shinichi said. "Bye!"

And they switched the phone off.

Turning to Shiho, he told her. "They're starting homeroom soon."

"Are you sure we'll skip class, because if you don't want to…" Shiho told him worriedly.

"Shh…" Shinichi pressed his index finger against her soft lips. "It's okay…"

Shiho nodded obediently. She probably was in her emotional mode right now so she really didn't act like the tough and sarcastic Shiho she used to be.

"Now, let's get a place to sit." Shinichi said. They walked. "Ah…there…there is a bench!"

Shiho nodded and followed him and both of them sat down on the bench.

"Now… just don't be afraid, Shiho. What did Gin do to you? Let it all out."

He was gently rubbing Shiho's back as tears fell again.

"I…I… he would pin me to the wall with his strong hands, he'd threaten me, telling me that if I ever dared left the syndicate, he'll kill me, and when I tried to answer…" She paused. It was too much for her to handle as tears fell again.

"It's alright… you can take your time…"

Shinichi said, his tears now nearing too as he felt so much pity for her. But no, he can't possibly cry, if he did, then, she'll crumble as well. Shinichi is Shiho's pillar, Shinichi is her source of strength, and therefore Shinichi can't be weak… not in front of her.

"He… he'd slap me hard on the cheek… I felt so scared… so frightened…" She cried. "I didn't show my weakness to him, though; I'd always stand up and fight back… but to no avail… I end up always being slammed to the wall as he pinned me again… always…"

She sobbed.

"And, that's not even the end of it…" She was crying hard now, and she didn't even bother to put her mask on anymore. Her feelings were too strong. "He'd slide his hands on my waist… he was abusing me… but, I'd always push him away! I didn't allow him to do that to me! I didn't allow him to touch me! I'd stick out a tongue at him and then he'd slap me on the cheek again… over and over…"

Shinichi was shocked, he didn't know that she had this much pain within her.

"I'm so scared… Kudo…I'm…" Shiho felt breathless, her frail body now shivering, melted within Shinichi's tight embrace. Shinichi's shirt was now very wet with her tears. "I'm so scared…"

Shinichi's eyes were now filled with sorrow.

_Poor girl… She has gone through so much… Poor girl…_

"Gin… he was so violent to me… He would break all my laboratory apparatuses and slam the broken pieces of glass at me like a madman…" Shiho buried her teary face on Shinichi's chest and he tapped her head lightly.

"I'm so scared, Kudo… so scared…"

Shiho said in between sniffs.

"That's why I'm always so distant and cold to a person, that's why I fear closeness, because I'm not sure who to trust anymore… Everyone's been so cruel to me in the organization… Even just as a little girl, I remember, at the age of six… I think… they were already hurting me in every way they could. I'd always put on a cold and brave mask, to keep people from hurting me… however, that's not the real me… inside, I'm scared… I'm so terrified…"

"Shiho…" Shinichi whispered while rubbing her back.

Shiho looked up at him with her eyes filled with tears.

Ah…whenever he saw those tears of hers, he'd feel a pang of awful pain.

"I'll show you the light." Shinichi told her.

"What?" Shiho whispered, confused.

Shinichi smiled and said. "I will make sure your life will be a good one…"

"But… I have to use my mask… I have to hide…" Shiho explained.

"You never have to use your mask in front of me…" Shinichi told her while wiping her tears.

Shiho's eyes were red now, tears bursting again, she felt so touched with what he had said.

"I'm always here for you, you have to remember that." Shinichi told her.

"But…"

"Shh…" Shinichi pressed his fingers against her lips once more. "Hush now… its okay. You can show your true self to me. I have your back, Shiho; I always have and always will…"

Shiho smiled. "Arigatou, Kudo-kun. I appreciate."

"Just remember, you can tell me _anything_ that is bothering you." Shinichi said.

"Alright, Kudo…" Shiho told him as she was serious. "I have a confession."

"Yes, what is it?" Shinichi asked warmly.

Her chest tightened. She had a short of breath and debated on whether she was to tell him or not. She looked sideways… she knew that this was the moment of truth, and no matter how embarrassing it may be, she knew that she had to tell him, he trusted her. Therefore, he will keep all her secrets.

She inhaled deeply. _There is no turning back… I will definitely tell him…_

"I… I…lo…I lo…" She gripped her skirt.

**The End of Chapter**

**To be continued…**

Time Started: August 24, 2008 11:50 pm

Time Ended: August 28, 2008 evening with Aunty Linda

Time Finalized: September 3, 2008 7:15 pm (day before PE, 2 days before huge Chinese exam and social studies exam and 3 nights before a huge math test!) Now, do you guys see how stressed I am? Good. Therefore, please forgive me for late updates…LOL


	5. Chap5 of Theme1

Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan.

Fiction Rating: T

Thanks to everyone who reviewed especially HopeGrace1920, my new friend! Sorry for the terribly late-- late update… you all know the reason- SCHOOL AND FINAL EXAMINATIONS!

**Theme 1: Sacrifice**

**Chapter 5: The Turning of the Climax**

Genre: Humor/ Mystery

"I…I…" She sighed, frowning. "I love Mitsuhiko's jokes…" She finished lamely, grinning oddly.

Shinichi's face dropped, while having a ridiculous looking expression on his face. Then, he started giggling.

"What?! That's your huge confession?! You like Mitsuhiko's jokes…? I find them so corny!" Shinichi laughed some more while making a weirdened out expression. "… Seriously… you do?!" He asked in between giggles. "Man, I thought that you were gonna say something serious…" Shinichi burst out in laughter.

_You have no idea… I find them corny, too… His jokes are so lame…_

_I couldn't tell him… I'm such a coward… Until when will I cower…? Until when…will I hide…?_

Shiho thought.

She gave a fake smile and said. "That boy's jokes aren't that bad…"

_Oh, believe me… his jokes ARE that bad… that boy has absolutely no sense of humor… Well, I don't mind, it's not like I have one anyway… Cheh…hehe… Man! What am I saying?! I'm contradicting everything I say… I've gone mad… Well, probably…_

Shiho thought in her mind again.

Shinichi laughed and laughed, holding his stomach. "You're funny, Shiho! Haha! Hahaha!!"

_I won't hide my feelings anymore…_

Shiho decided.

_I will tell him…_

Shiho looked at the laughing Shinichi and made a small smile.

_This isn't the right time yet… No…Not now…_

_When the right time comes… I will tell him…Someday…_

_Definitely…_

"Uh-huh…"

"Really?!"

"Yeah!"

"No way…"

"Yes… don't keep on asking all over again! It's getting annoying ojii-san…"

"Gomen…" The man laughed. "So… is this really true…?"

"Yes."

"Oh?"

"Yes." The girl nodded, sighing for the end time. "You're getting irritating…"

"So you're Ai-kun's…?"

"For the last time…YES, ojii-san… Please help me…" The sweet girl pleaded.

"I'd be more than happy to!" He agreed happily.

"Arigatou!" She exclaimed happily.

"Ie…" He said humbly.

"Um…you think we can pull a small prank on them…?" She asked naughtily while grinning.

The old man grinned back. "I think I like the sound of that!"

The two burst out in laughter.

"I know we will get along, child!" The old man giggled.

"Yes, ojii-san… Oh yes!" She smiled gladly. "I knew I came to the right person! Domo arigatou gozaimashta ne!"

"…want coffee?" The old man offered while grinning from ear to ear.

"No, I just like water." The girl replied politely. "So…you WILL help me…right?"

"Why, of course… my dear! Just leave everything to me! I'll take care of the details!"

"Hounto desu?"

The old man frowned, irritated. "Now, you're being the annoying one…"

The girl laughed. "Yeah, gomen…"

Footsteps…

Loud and fast footsteps…

_Argh… so noisy! I can't get any sleep!_

"GIN!"

The door of Gin's room burst open loudly and it woke him up in an instant. The sadistic blonde lady emerged from the door.

"WAKE UP GIN! GET UP!"

Gin groaned, still lying down his bed sleepily. He was really angry now.

"Damn it woman?! What's up with you?! This better be important!" Gin yelled madly.

"Why of course it is important!" The blonde haired woman yelled back. "I know where Fortune is! We have targeted her!"

Hearing this, Gin's eyes widened while hastily flinging off his blanket that covered his body and quickly jumped out of bed with unusual excitement.

"FORTUNE?! You… found her?!" He looked at her with shock. "Haruka…… you… you found Miyano Haruka?! FORTUNE!!"

The woman lit another cigarette butt while smiling. "Yes, Gin. I've traced her location… somewhere near Beika District, in Tokyo. Do you want to see her or not?!"

"Beika?! But that's where Sherry is!!" He screamed, scratching his head in frustration.

The woman smiled. "Don't you get it, Gin? That's exactly my point. She's there to see her."

Seeing Gin's expression clearly, the devious woman added.

"Then, get up of bed, get dressed and let's get going." She grinned, stepping hard on the cigarette butt which she spat on the floor to die out its fire.

"But how were you able to track her down when I've had a hard time searching for her in two long years of my damn life!?"

Gin asked abruptly, somewhat jealousy can be heard in his tone that the smug woman was better in tracking down people than he was.

The blonde woman put her index finger across her lips, gesturing him to keep silent.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you."

She gave a large deceptive smirk.

"A secret makes a woman, woman."

And at that, she left the room with Gin wide awake, different emotions surging in him.

"Settle down… class…" The homeroom teacher of high school 3B said while trying to get all the 45 students in her class to sit down and behave.

"Minna-san (everyone), you are all graduating kokusei (high school) students! Dakara (therefore)… please act more mature for heaven's sake! You must all show good examples to the younger years especially to our neighboring school…" she looked out the window and pointed the nearby school with her index finger. "…Teitan Elementary!"

Shinichi and Shiho looked at each other knowingly and smiled at each other.

"We were one of them not long ago…" Shinichi whispered to Shiho, staring out the window where he could see young kids running and playing out in the school playground.

"Yeah… I miss it…" Shiho whispered back, smiling warmly. "I… I miss the kids…"

Shinichi and Shiho looked outside the window while nostalgic feelings of their second childhood past came running in their minds. They remembered the days when they went treasure hunting with Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta, they remembered all the fun and childish stuff they did. As much as how embarrassing this may sound, both Shiho and Shinichi actually wanted to go back to the old days… wherein they had adventures as the Shounen Tantei and when the five went on camping trips together with hakase…

Lovely memories…

"I wish I could go back…" Shiho whispered to Shinichi, ignoring the noisy classroom with noisy classmates with the angry teacher with the yelling Ran and Sonoko.

She and Shinichi were the only ones behaved and properly seated-- more like civilized actually. They were the only ones in their own world, never listening to their already high blooded sensei with the very disobedient and playful students surrounding them. Students were throwing paper airplanes for crying out loud! -- What were they anyway…? Third year high school students with minds of third graders?!

This was pathetic… just pathetic…

Shiho and Shinichi thought in unison minutes ago, and so they decided to leave the chaos as it is even if they had the authority. What's worst, Ran was also part of the mayhem, too, a boy tried to cut a strand of her long brown hair and now she is beating him up with her karate to death while Sonoko yells and him while obviously trying to flirt at the same time. The teacher was being thrown with thumb taxes already! Poor sensei!

This wasn't even called a classroom-- students sitting on their tables, couples kissing in front of sensei, girls flirting with boys, girls yelling and hitting boys to death, boys trying to peep under girls' skirts while the girls try to whack the boys' heads off, juvenile delinquents trying to compete against stupid stuff like the longest ever spit meter test (yuck); the farthest paper airplane they can throw (childish much) and the fastest banana eater ever… (One word…INSANITY)

It wasn't a class… oh it wasn't, it was more like a mental hospital… or… a zoo for penguins…no, penguins are far more behaved than they are. Hmm… the class was like a household filled with crazy monkeys! -- Yes! That was the description that Shinichi and Shiho would agree on describing the class as of the moment.

And no… they wouldn't sink down to those empty headed monkeys' level; they would be elite, far more superior to them. They would act normal.

They'd act like humans, because they ARE humans.

Shinichi was pulled back from his musings when Shiho told him that.

"You do?" Shinichi asked her.

"Yeah…" She asked. "You?"

"Hmm…" He pondered to think for a while since the noise of the class is slightly getting to his eardrums already. He'd guess he could still tolerate some more. "I guess I also do sometimes…"

Shiho smiled and nodded in agreement, then, suddenly remembering something, she controlled a laugh.

"Isn't there supposed to be a new transfer student in our class today?" Shiho asked.

"Yeah." Shinichi nodded.

"It's such a shame if she'd have THIS first impression of the school." She told him, pointing at the ugly scene of gone loco students and exasperated teacher with her index finger.

"How'd you know it's a she?" Shinichi asked.

"I heard from the other sections."

"Oh…"

"I also hear that she is also half-British, like me." Shiho told him.

"Oh? Well, try to get along with her alright?"

Shiho looked at him, eyes dropping. "What do you think of me?"

"I didn't mean it badly." Shinichi said, pouting charmingly.

Shiho sighed heavily, shaking her head. "I guess not."

"Hey, you also experienced this mayhem of a class when you first entered the school as a new transfer student. Do you remember?"

Shiho laughed. "Ah… yes." She nodded, remembering well. "But you warned me beforehand."

Shinichi chuckled, remembering, too.

_**Flashback…**_

"_Ne, Miyano-san…" Shinichi called her formally, grabbing her shoulders to let her face him._

"_Hmm?" She asked, turning around before she opened the door of her new classroom, Kudo-kun just at the back of her._

"_I should warn you, the scene in there is quite ugly." He whispered somewhat happily._

_Shiho raised her brows, her hands moving away from the doorknob._

"_What do you mean…Kudo-kun?" She asked a tad bit scared._

_Shinichi chuckled as always and made his famous smile. "Let's just say it's like you've entered a mental hospital for retarded monkeys."_

"_Are the students unintelligent? Are their IQs that beneath mine and yours?" Shiho asked. "If that is so, I wouldn't want to transfer to this school. I wouldn't want to be associated with dull people. I don't know why you study here."_

_Shinichi laughed. "No, I didn't mean that. They have great IQ, there are many smart students here and they are certainly not dull. They're just… um… more of insane…?"_

"_Huh?" She asked again, now lost in his words._

"_They have attitude problems. They…are…er… wild…?" He admitted shamefully._

"_I see." Shiho said simply._

_She opened the door._

_Her mouth dropped as her eyes blinked at the sight of the classroom with the supposedly 'smart' students were. She couldn't process well what mayhem she was seeing at the moment._

_Shinichi just laughed from behind._

"_You're right." Shiho muttered. "Crazy people… Are they like this EVERY morning…?"_

_Shinichi nodded._

"_Well, then…"_

_Shiho's lips twisted into a soft smile. _

"_I think this is going to be a fun academic year for me…" She smiled. "…Shinichi."_

"_You finally called me by my first name…" Shinichi's smile softened. "…Shiho-chan."_

_**End of Flashback**_

"That was when we started calling each other by our first names, right?" Shiho stated.

"Yeah, we've really gotten closer, less distant and more intimate with each other as friends through the years." Shinichi told her.

Shiho nodded.

"I really think we should do something about this class."

"What do you mean, Shiho?"

"We have got to fix this class before that new girl arrives." Shiho said. "Or she'll want to transfer out."

"No, no. I think she'd like it. You yourself said that it would be a fun year, right?"

Shiho sighed. "Still…"

"Okay…watashi wa wakata……" Shinichi sighed back; groaning on what he was dawned to do.

A/N: watashi wa wakata… (I understand)

Shinichi and Shiho both stood up on their chairs and shouted.

"EVERYONE!! MINNA-SAN, A NEW TRANFER STDENT IS COMING!!"

Shiho smirked at her boy classmates. "She's a girl… you boys wouldn't want her to see you in this state with messy hair and uniform now… would you?"

Shinichi smiled, now his turn to speak. "And, girls, do you really want that new girl to think that you all are a couple of uneducated slobs?! Do you want her to have the first impression that Teitan girls are barbaric? Be ashamed of yourselves!!"

After that… murmurs of…

"The two smartest students in class have spoken…"

"We must follow Kudo-sama and Miyano-sama…"

"The vice president and class president have stood up… they mean it…"

"We must obey them or we're dead…"

"They're right… we'll be put to shame…"

"Let's go back to our respective seats…"

Yes, Shiho was class president, while Shinichi was vice president, and they were also the two most outstanding students in school with the average of 99.7 and 98.5 respectively. The third highest ranking student in their class only got a 91.14 of a grade.

Shiho smirked in satisfaction. "We're good, aren't we?" She told Shinichi.

Shinichi smirked back, just as pleased. "The student body respects the both of us and they will listen to whatever we tell them to do." He raised his hands upward, gesturing to Shiho that he wanted to have her high-five with him.

Shiho grinned, appearing his hand with hers. "We're powerful." She stated.

"Now, let's just wait for the transfer student to arrive." Shinichi said while looking around the class, everything was neat, sensei was happy again, everyone was in their respective seats, everyone were all properly behaved and everyone had their books out, studying. He smiled. "She'll be thrilled to see a school this disciplined. We ARE carrying the name of our school, aren't we?"

"Yes." Shiho said in response. "Seeing them this behaved creeps me out a little… it isn't normal for them… to be this quiet." Shiho said. "It's almost a dream."

"Yeah, they're just faking it." Shinichi laughed slightly, pointing to one of his classmates.

"What do you mean?" Shiho asked, looking around as well.

"Look, Saburu-kun, he isn't even studying." Shinichi laughed.

Shiho frowned, observing. "Yes he is! He's reading his chemistry book now."

Shinichi shook his head, still smiling. "How can you ever be a detective? You're not observant enough; I thought scientists were observant." He chuckled. "Try looking at his ear."

Shiho sighed and looked. Her eyes widened and her thin lips formed a grin.

"Saw it?"

Shiho nodded in response. "Earphones?"

Shinichi nodded back. "He's listening to 'Shoudou', I'm sure of it."

Shiho's rolled her eyes. "How can you tell it's the Japanese rock song 'Shoudou'? That's a very wild song, why would he listening to such an upbeat song while studying? Maybe he is listening to a prerecorded lecture of sensei in Chemistry class. Or maybe he's listening to a soft melodious classical song to ease his mind." She concluded.

"Ie, dakara chigau…te…(no because it's wrong) Shiho." Shinichi said. "Look, he is tapping his foot rapidly; his heels are really making a lot of noise."

"Oh, yes, I see!" Shiho said, understanding. "If he was listening to a classical song or to a prerecorded Chemistry lecture, his body won't shake so much and he won't tap his feet this way…and, he won't shake his legs that much. But… how do you know that the particular song he is listening to is 'Shoudou'? There is a lot of wild upbeat Japanese music."

"I was getting to that." Shinichi pointed towards Saburu's mouth. "Read his lips."

Shiho read it. He was singing softly.

_Doko ka ni ikeru no shinjiyou… narita subete no koto yo…shoudou…_

_Tsuyogaru… hanaremo yoga kisu marakeba…_

_Moku…nani ga… sasaiyayte… Shoudou…_

Shiho smiled softly. "The lyrics of 'Shoudou'?"

Shinichi nodded. "You finally got it now, and observe the others, they are just faking… reading their books and all, I mean, look at Miyura-chan, she's holding up a kanji dictionary in front of her, but look closely…"

Shiho's eyes twitched. "There's a teen magazine hidden under it…"

"And, look at Haka-kun; it may look like he is writing his homework… but actually…"

Shiho leaned closer to her seatmate and her eyes dropped. "He's writing a love letter to Miyura-chan…"

"And…" Shinichi smiled.

"Okay, that's enough. I don't want to know more of my classmates' incompetence and their lack of eagerness to learn." Shiho sighed, holding up her palm, gesturing him to just shut it.

Suddenly remembering something, Shinichi leaned towards Shiho's ear and whispered to her ear.

"What are we going to do? That reminds me, the kuro no soshiki is still out there… that guy did call you Sherry, right? What do we do…Shiho?"

Shiho's stomach tightened, her eyes grew serious as well upon remembering. "If Mouri-san never knew about the organization, then, there won't be any problem, but after all that's happened, and she knows everything about you… being Edogawa Conan and all… she saw _everything _there is to see… she saw their capture…" Shiho said worriedly. "Her life is in danger as well, she's a target, dakara (so) we have to warn her."

"Yes." Shinichi agree. "I'm telling her not to talk to suspicious people as soon as possible."

Shinichi looked at Ran. She was now actually studying her Japanese history test for later to make up for her failing mark in the last test while Sonoko was obviously hiding her mobile phone under the table, texting her beloved Makoto.

Shinichi tapped Ran's shoulder.

"Hmm? Nani yo (what is it) Shinichi?"

"Shiho and I need to talk to you." The urgency and the seriousness heard from his voice and the worry that she saw plastered on Shiho's face scared her. She closed her History book and faced the two.

"What is it?" Ran asked, now worried as well.

"Mouri-san…" Shiho started shakily. "The organization… they're still our there…"

Ran's eyes widened. "You don't mean…but, they've been in jail for two years already!!"

"Sadly, yes." Shinichi confirmed. "Kuro no soshiki escaped prison a week ago."

Shiho nodded in unison.

Ran's hands tightened. "Then… that means…"

"Yes." Shinichi told her. "They're somewhere here; hunting for us…possibly… you're included in their black list…"

"How are you all sure of this?" Ran asked, tears nearing.

"They are somewhere roaming in Beika district, Mouri-san. You see a man snuck in my hospital room not so long ago… and he injected me with poisonous IV!" Shiho told her.

"What?!" Ran tensed up once more. "But, what happened?"

"Luckily, a miracle happened, I somehow got well and…"

"How do you know he was one of _them_…?" Ran asked afraid as ever.

"That guy called me _Sherry…_" She explained.

Ran was lost. She was not that familiar with her former codename. "Huh? Sherry?!"

"_Sherry_ was the name she used when she was still under _them_ all those years back. That was her codename."

Shinichi explained more thoroughly.

Upon hearing this, Ran bit her lip and clenched her fists. She remembered Saegusa Rina.

"Ne, Miyano-san…"

"Hmm?"

"Is it possible that you have an evil sister… who is an accomplice of _them…?_"

"Why?" Shiho raised her brows. "I don't think so. I know that my only sister is Akemi- neechan… and she died about more than three years ago no one else… Why, Mouri-san?! " Shiho frowned when she saw Ran nervously combing her hair unconsciously, biting her lip, confusion flickering in her blue eyes.

"Well… um…, you see… sore wa dakara…(and so… that's why…)…" Ran stammered.

Shinichi stared at her curiously.

Shiho's eyes darkened at Ran. Then, Shiho looked at her sternly in the eyes.

"Mouri-san… you know something, don't you?" Shiho asked seriously while never having the intention to stop piercing Ran's eyes with her deep stare.

"Ran…" Shinichi held her soft hands, eyes filled with understanding. "You… you know something?! Tell us…"

The class was still obedient as ever then suddenly, sensei called out.

"Ne… Miyano-san, Kudo-san…"

"Shiho and Shinichi were startled upon hearing sensei calling their names, then, they turned to face her.

"Yes sensei?" Shiho said.

"What is it, sensei?" Shinichi responded.

"I just want to thank both of you for the save a while ago… I mean… the class mayhem… the class really listens to you… you guys are something…" She said in awe.

"Nah… no problem, sensei…" Shinichi laughed humbly.

"That's fine, sensei… we're part of the student council after all…" Shiho reminded. "Although… it's sad that they are faking it…"

"Oh… yeah, I know these kids are just faking it, I can see that much… well… we can't do anything with them anymore now can we? As long as they shut their mouths… it's fine with me. Its homeroom… free study period anyway…" Sensei told them in reply, sighing in her last statement.

"You should really stop mentioning the word 'study' in free study period, sensei…" Shinichi said. "These baboons aren't even studying!"

Ran laughed at that while Shiho simply flashed out her trademark smirk on her face.

Sensei sighed. "I guess so…"

And at that, sensei stopped her communication with them, her eyes reading a novel.

Shinichi blinked, then, he turned to face the two girls again.

"So…" Shinichi started, looking at Ran. "Do you know something or not?"

"Yeah, Shinichi, Miyano-san… I know something…" Ran started and Shinichi and Shiho both tensed up upon hearing so.

"Few days ago… a beautiful young lady named Saegusa Rina, who, I may add, looks a lot like Miyano-san… um… about two years older than me I think… was looking at our school. Then, she asked me if Miyano Shiho is studying here…"

Shiho shuddered and Shinichi was curious.

"Of course, naturally, I said yes… now, I think I'm regretting that…"

Ran sighed.

"Then… she started mentioning things about you, like… as proof that she knows you…"

Ran pointed at Shiho.

"Like your height… your physical features… your appearance, even your intelligence, and they were all correct!"

Ran exclaimed.

"Then, I asked her why she knew so much about you… then, she said that she was an old childhood friend of yours and she left for abroad a long time ago and you've probably forgotten about her… that's what she said… she said that she's looking forward in seeing you again… so…could Saegusa-san be one of _them…_?"

Shiho batted her eyes… thinking a second. She was deep in her thoughts and both Ran and Shinichi were waiting for her response.

"I… I don't think so…" Shiho said, shaking her head. "I'm the youngest in the organization… I'm sure of it. Well, unless one of them is in disguise… most likely Vermouth…" Shiho said.

"Take precaution… Ran…" Shinichi told her. "Don't talk to strangers, to random people in streets or in bus stops. With the shape shifting techniques of Vermouth, the right hand man of the Boss, in her plastic surgery… or a disguise mask, they could be anyone…"

Ran nodded. "Yes Shinichi."

"But, perhaps that girl, Saegusa, is after Shiho, since she knows a lot about her… and it's impossible for her to be Shiho's childhood friend. Let's try investigating on that Saegusa girl if ever we see her again." Shinichi said.

Both girls nodded in agreement as sensei called out.

"Minna! (everyone) It's the end of homeroom; I hope you've _studied _your lessons and used your free period wisely." Sensei said, angrily emphasizing the word 'study'.

People from all sides of the room groaned when sensei said.

"It's Chemistry class!"

Shiho smiled and whispered to herself. "…My number one subject."

"You're so good at this Chemistry thing, Miyano-san… you don't even need to study for it…" Wako Mariwa, Shiho's female classmate stated enviously. "Almost everyone is having a hard time in Chemistry… I really don't get the ionic bonds and the covalent bonds… what's that about?!"

Shiho simply smiled, but deep down she thought. _Oh please, I knew that topic when I was 10!_

"I'll teach you when I have the time, but, I'm kinda busy for the time being…" Shiho said.

"But, the test is this afternoon, and it is so hard!" Mariwa screeched.

"You just have to remember that in ionic bond, one element gives of electrons and one element receives electrons while the covalent bond, only sharing of electrons is present."

"Oh, okay… thanks, Miyano-san!" Mariwa thanked. "But…I still don't get the Mnemonics table in the Periodic table of elements… and I don't get the electrical configuration either."

Shiho controlled a laugh and corrected. "It's _electronic _configuration because it is order of how the electrons are presented in each element. Electronic… is coming from the root word electron which is the negative charge in an atom… It is not electrical…"

"Oh…" Mariwa said dumbly. "No wonder I can find any electrical configuration on the table of contents of our book, and I can't find it anywhere in the net either…"

"That's because it must be _electronic_…, not electrical… they are different words…" Shiho said once more. _This girl needs more brain food…_

"Oh…" The girl felt as dumb as a brick in front of Shiho now so she just stammered. "Um… okay, Miyano-san… just come to my birthday party someday… um… ah…" Running out of intelligent words to say as Shiho just stared at her, she said. "Um… er… I'll be going to my seat now… bye!" She scampered to her seat, red with embarrassment because of her lack of knowledge in Chemistry, avoiding Shiho's eyes.

"That was…" Shiho whispered. "…so…" Avoiding her possible harsh use of the word 'dumb', Shiho said. "…so unintelligent…"

Shinichi and Ran just chuckled slightly at what she said.

"We learned that electronic configuration and chemical bonding when we were 14 years old!"

Ran and Shinichi said together proudly.

Shiho had her chest higher up as she told them. "I knew that when I was 10 years old!"

The two teens of opposite genders simply stared at her, not dare to believe.

"Minna!" The teacher shouted. "Before we start our lessons on the scientists who discovered each part of the atoms… let us welcome our new transfer student!"

"This topic is just too easy…" Shiho yawned.

"I don't even know that yet…" Shinichi stared with half open eyes.

"It's pretty easy, really… John Dalton was the scientist who made the three scientific statements on atoms… then, um… Neils Bohr created the planetary model of atoms… and the Swedish scientist KW Scheele made that experiment on oxygen and hydrogen compound… um…and Democritus stated that the atom is in the form of a circle and then JJ Thomson…"

"STOP BRAGGING!" Shinichi yelled.

"Sorry, your majesty…" Shiho said mockingly.

The door made a sound as it opened; a tall beautiful young girl emerged in sight.

"Woah… she's steaming hot…"

Many of the men in the room murmured as they scanned her thoroughly, from her angelic face to her slender waist to her milky white legs and her extremely cute petite feet.

"She's so pretty so gorgeous… like Miyano- sama…" Ladies in the class whispered enviously.

"She looks a lot like Miyano- san…" The class said.

"She DOES look a lot like me!!" Shiho yelled, startled.

"Yeah and … she's pretty…" Shinichi added.

Ran shivered, fear overcoming her. Her fingers dug into Shinichi's school pants.

"Oi, what's the matter, Ran?!" Shinichi asked upon seeing her scared expression.

"Mouri- san…?" Shiho asked worriedly. "What's wrong…?"

"She… She's the one…" Ran said shakily, pointing the new transfer student with her hand.

"Please introduce yourself." The teacher said to her.

"Why certainly sensei, I'm glad to do so!" The beautiful girl spoke in front of class, standing on the platform. "How are you all? I'm Saegusa Rina, your new classmate; I hope we can all be friends…"

Upon hearing that, Shiho and Shinichi's eyes widened with fear, the pupils of their eyes shook violently. Shiho gripped her desk, terrified as the new girl was staring at her with great interest.

"…I hope we can all be friends…" She repeated again. "… especially you…" She smiled mysteriously, her eyes scanning Shiho's slender form.

With courage, she added.

"…Shiho."

Murmurs of…

"How rude to call Miyano-san by her first name…"

"Doesn't she know the Japanese courtesy that we must never call someone by their first name unless we are very close to that someone…?"

"It's almost like she's like a foreigner, you know, like Americans who always call random people by their first names…"

'She has a pretty face and a pretty insulting attitude with it…"

"She is such boastful one…"

"How rude of her…"

"If she called me by my first name, I'd slap her…"

"She's really disrespecting our class president…"

"What a terrible personality…"

But, Rina just kept her façade on, ignoring the murmurs, her eyes fixed on Shiho. Her eyes are hungry to see Shiho in person. She loved everything about Shiho, she was craving for her. But no, she was not romantically interested in her. She _wasn't _a tomboy… She was just… simply obsessed of Shiho.

And Shiho felt cold chill run down her spine as Rina gave her an intimate smile and sat right on the vacant seat beside her.

Rina, the new girl, never removed her eyes from Shiho, and that gave Shiho this uncomfortable feeling of irk.

Somewhere inside the classroom, a soft but clear murmur could be heard like an echo.

"Got you… finally… Fortune…"

An evil smile floated somewhere across the room.

"What do you call the electrons in the highest energy level?" Sensei asked.

No one knew the answer except Shiho and Rina. Both of them were waving their hands up violently, calling for sensei's attention.

"Yes, Saegusa- san? Miyano- san? Please answer together." Sensei ordered.

The two stood up, the class saw the intensity of their similarity, in figure, in eyes, in the foreign skin color, in the facial features…

"Valence electron of the differentiated electronic configuration…"

The two girls said synchronically. The two girls looked at each other in disbelief.

And the class also saw their similarly in their great knowledge of Chemistry.

"Excellent." Sensei praised simply. "Now, please, both of you go solve the chemical formula of the bond of Lithium and Oxygen."

"Shall I use the Lewis dot structure method, sensei?" Rina asked.

"Yes." She nodded.

The two tall girls walked towards the board at the same time and picked up the chalk. They stood with a far distance from each other as to not cheat from each other, and, as expected, Shiho was already solving with the speed of light. Unexpectedly, Rina finished solving even before Shiho finished because she had a better chalk to hold on which was easier to write with.

No one in the history of Teitan high was EVER able to defeat Shiho in chemistry, and this new girl just threw Shiho like an old rag doll.

Murmurs from the class could be heard again.

"Stop murmuring, minna! Copy your notes!" Sensei screamed at the class.

"The answer is Li2O or Lithium oxide!" The new girl, Rina, stated.

Shiho turned to the class who had expectant eyes that the answer was wrong and the new girl didn't in fact beat the class president who was oh- so powerful.

"Minna… Saegusa- san is correct. The answer is Li2O. Right sensei?"

Sensei nodded, awed in Rina's smarts as well.

The students made amazed sounds of different kinds.

"Name all 118 elements in the Periodic table and write their Atomic number, atomic mass, symbol, block, group number and period number of each."

Shinichi raised his hands. "Sensei, I think that question is too hard."

Before sensei could reply, Shiho turned and said. "This is really just a piece of cake, Shinichi."

Rina said in agreement. "This is too easy."

"Ready… get set… go!!" The teacher yelled excitedly. "This is the Battle of the Geniuses!"

_Magnesium… Ununoctium… Barium… Chlorine… Carbon… Nickel… Aluminum… Silver… etc…_

Amazingly, after 5 minutes, the blackboard was filled with writings of all the elements.

"Okay, you two, I think that's enough…"

The two girls sat down, tired of writing on the blackboard.

"Miyano-san has 100 answers while Rina has 99 answers…"

"Woa…… Ooohh…" The class expressed. "Close fight…"

"It's seems that we have another genius in class." Sensei said while grinning.

Shiho looked at Rina while frowning, and Rina smirked, just exactly like how Shiho uses her trademark smirk.

"Nice play… Miyano…" Rina called out to Shiho again, this time, less disrespectful but still rude nonetheless because she didn't use honorifics like chan or san… in mentioning her surname.

The teacher liked everything about Rina and so did the class, only except for the part where they kept on being rude to Shiho by not calling her name the proper Nihon way.

"Her unnatural intelligence… it scares me…" Shiho told Shinichi and Ran.

"You also scare us sometimes by being unnaturally smart." Ran pointed out.

"Yeah, that's true. "Shinichi said. "I'm sometimes really shocked with your smarts!"

"Yeah… but…" Shiho explained. "I was under the organization once so I really had special training…but… this girl… doko wa…(where) where the hell did she come from…? Who _is_ she?"

"Sherry…"

Shiho jolted, shock and fear rushed down her blood when she heard that name. She turned.

"Sherry…"

Rina repeated again while seeming to enjoy Shiho's pale face whenever she repeated the word. Yes, Rina was naughty.

Shinichi and Ran's eyes grew wide as well.

"Sherry is my father's favorite wine… he named my sister after it…"

Rina said, telling her tale. Shinichi, Shiho and Ran seemed to relax when they heard her say that. The three sighed. She was referring to the wine after all.

"My father and mother are in pain right now, but whenever I remind them of the hope of Sherry…they have courage again…"

Shiho did not understand this. Was she referring to the wine or her sister… whoever that was? Which one gave her parents courage, the drink, or the sister? This thing Rina said was vague.

Rina smiled.

"I love drinking Sherry wine, although bitter, it has a sweet aftertaste. I can relate it to my sister, who, on the outside is bitter and cold, but inside, deep down, she's just lonely and scared… she's soft… and her tears are shallow… I know that…" Rina stared at Shiho again and this made Shiho slightly annoyed.

Because…

Somehow, no matter how vague… Shiho could relate… she could feel… understand…

"What happened?"

Shiho murmured the question just absentmindedly slipped of her tongue. It was a mistake, a Freudian slip. Why oh why was she stupid enough to ask that to Rina? Damn it!

"I haven't had the chance to talk to my sister… she was always so busy… so distant…" Rina said. "But, now, I have found Sherry again… and I will celebrate with her, and drink that Sherry wine together…" She smiled softly. "I love Sherry so much…

Rina smiled at Shiho and muttered.

"… My neechan…"

A/N: Whew! That sure was a VERY long chapter, huh?! Well, I hope you look forward to the next! This is already the middle part of the story. Please anticipate!

MiyanoRan )

Time Started: Friday, September 14, 2008 11:30 PM

Time Completed: Wednesday, October 14, 2008 6:00 PM


	6. Chap6 of Theme1

Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan.

Fiction Rating: T

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I hope all of you continue supporting my stories! Arigatou!

I just came home from Thailand so I'm really tired. And hounto ni gomenasai to alexzhou and Ai-chan for not satisfying you enough with my story "Numb", I know that wasn't a nice story from me and you hated it probably, but, I'll make it up to you guys by making another angsty fic.

Thanks, alex! You labeled me as "Goddess of Angst", I'm truly honored. (makes a curtsy) LOL… and thanks for putting me in your top 8 favorite authors list in your profile! And I so agree that HopeGrace1920's stories ROCK!

…Although, I haven't heard from aquagirl520… where is she? I'm sorry for not giving my best work at "Numb". Rest assured that I will still try to live up to that reputation and make more angsty fics… promise!

But in the meantime, since I'm in a pleasant mood lately after my Thailand trip, please enjoy my humor stories for now.

Okay, enough chit-chat, it's time for the story proper!

Warning (DO NOT BE SPOILED): This chapter is similar to episode 130, Girl from the Black Organization, and Detective Conan manga chapters of "Sherry" and "Checkmate".

**Theme 1: Sacrifice**

**Chapter 6: Rina's True Color**

Shiho's stomach began to tighten as she heard Rina say "my neechan" to her… she felt the hot acid rise up her stomach. Was she having heartburns now? She groaned. She gripped her skirt. She didn't want to have a person who was her sister wannabe. She was pissed.

"Don't _ever _call me neechan…" Shiho said sternly to Rina.

Rina chuckled. "I wasn't calling you neechan, I was saying about how much I love _my neechan…_"

Ran and Shinichi just sat there, listening quietly to their conversation and turning argument. There was a dangerous aura; they knew that Shiho would fume later on.

Shiho didn't like people who tried to tease or bully her especially irritate her by butting in her life and moreover addressing her as "neechan". That was the last straw, Shiho was annoyed, Rina was rubbing her the wrong way, and she was getting to her nerves.

Shiho groaned again, trying to suppress her temper. "Then, please, don't look at me straight in the eyes, it's creepy."

Rina pierced Shiho's eyes with hers and gave her a long stare in Shiho's blue orbs.

"What if I don't want to?" Rina said challengingly.

Shiho's eyes narrowed. "I'd rip your throat off." She said simply.

"Shiho…" Shinichi called, grabbing her shoulder to make her face him.

"What?!" Shiho asked, pissed.

Ran said gently. "Don't be like this, you guys."

"She's the one who's pissing me off!" Shiho screamed, about to get hysterical.

Rina laughed. "Next class is starting, trigonometry. Let's just chill it."

Shiho groaned angrily. "You… you…!!!" She was reaching out her fists towards Rina but Shinichi and Ran grabbed hold of her two arms before she could do much more damage.

"Enough… Shiho, stop it!!" Shinichi said.

Shiho tried to calm herself down, she heaved a sigh, and then, she said slowly. "Shinichi, Mouri-san… let me go…" She was trying to be free from the two's grip.

"Okay…just calm down Miyano-san." Ran said caringly as she slowly let go of her arm.

"Hai…hai…wakata…(yeah…yeah…I understand)…" Shinichi sighed, loosened his grip of her arm.

"Don't worry…" Shiho started. "I won't go haywire."

"Haywire?" Shinichi asked, unfamiliar of the English term.

"I mean, I won't go _wild and crazy _like what you are thinking of me now." Shiho said.

"Hey, chill, Miyano!" Rina laughed again while answering some trigonometry.

"You dare say that…" Shiho said in a low angered tone. "Why don't you just shut your mouth!"

Rina just laughed while Shiho groaned in exasperation.

_ _ _

The school day just ended that same afternoon and Shiho, Shinichi, Ran and Rina were the only ones left inside the classroom arranging the books inside their sling bag. Everyone else already went home, even sensei.

Shiho was still annoyed with Rina.

While Shiho was trying to squeeze in her History book inside her bag, Rina stared at her figure again, murmuring.

"You're so pretty, you're such a great nee-… ah… person…" Rina smiled ever so gently.

Ran and Shinichi just stood near the door, observing the two. They've been bickering the whole day.

Shiho turned her head to face her, with an angry scowl, she said.

"What do you want?! What's wrong with you?! Stop STARING at me and STOP praising me!"

Rina just giggled.

Closing the hood of her sling bag, she finally decided to confront Rina, who, was also done with fixing her stuff. She put her hands on her hips and made a frown, readying herself to speak. Rina just looked at her with amusement, crossing her arms together, licking her dry lips.

Shinichi and Shiho knew that their ears would hurt after few seconds because of all their heated discussion. They were closing their ears now.

"This should be good…" Shinichi murmured to Ran sarcastically.

"Yeah, it's REALLY good to see them fight again for the twelfth time today… and come to think of it, the day's not even over…" Ran whispered back with equal sarcasm. "I think Saegusa-san lacks attention…"

"Agreed…" Shinichi nodded.

The atmosphere was tense.

"Saegusa-san…" Shiho said in a low serious tone.

"Yes?" She responded innocently, although smirking.

"I'm sorry to ask you this… but… Are you… a lesbian?" Shiho asked, now in a soft understanding tone. She forced a smile. "I need to know… now…if you are…"

Shinichi, Shiho and Rina's eyes widened and their jaws almost literally dropped down the flooring. Shinichi was almost literally throwing up with disgust, Ran, so shock that she could almost faint, and Rina… well, she was turning shades of red, filled with embarrassment.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Shinichi and Ran held their stomachs while laughing loudly. Rina, on the other hand, screeched.

"Miyano-san! You… you really think I'm a lesbian?!!!! WHY?!!! DOSHITE!!!???" Rina wailed. "Aren't I feminine enough?!" She screeched.

Shiho blinked for a moment, observing her reaction, she asked. "So… you aren't?"

"Oh for goodness sake--- NO, of course I'm NOT a lesbian!! NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BEING A… A TOMBOY! NOOOO!!!!" She yelled, totally protesting, clearly in denial. "Where did you get that idea??!!! I am NOT and NEVER WILL BE a lesbian!! You are SO RUDE!!!"

Rina fell to her knees and was now wiping her crocodile tears. She pouted.

Shinichi laughed aloud. "Ahhhahahaha!!!!!" and Ran suppressed her giggles. "Hihihi…ahehe…"

Shiho scratched her head and smiled at her and apologized. "Gomenasai Saegusa-san, I only thought you were because you keep on staring at me the whole day… I thought, maybe you were interested in me…"

Shinichi and Ran yet had another burst of laughter, Shinichi, practically laughing like crazy rolling to and fro on the floor. Ran, on the other hand, was crouched down on the floor, too, keeping her legs together, she held her chest and she was already wheezing, wheezing from too much giggling.

Rina whined. "If that gave you an idea that I am a lesbian… I'll never stare at you directly again!" She promised as her head was bowed. "I… I just… admire you so much, since you are a very smart and pretty woman…" Rina denied. "I absolutely am NOT interested in you…" Her eyes slid sideways. "Well, at least… not like what you think…"

Shiho sighed. "Thank God you stopped; I knew you would stop your awkwardness if I said that…" Then she smiled.

Shinichi and Ran sighed, relaxing from too much of their laughter then their eyes turned like moon shaped cookies. Rina, on the other hand, stood up and dropped her eyes slightly.

"So you just said that to make me stop?" Rina asked with a very irritated tone.

"Pretty much, yeah…" Shiho said. "That was the only way, but I was thinking maybe my speculation was correct…"

"That I'm a LESBIAN???!!!" Rina screamed, then the birds on the class window pane flew off.

"Kinda…" Shiho smirked in satisfaction, seeing her in embarrassment.

"Well, anyhow… let's all go home… we'll walk you home, Saegusa-san…" Shinichi offered.

"WHAT?!!" Shiho yelled. "I'm not truce with her yet! She's a weirdo and very suspicious!!!"

Shinichi wanted to investigate deeper on this possible organization member and so her wanted to walk her home. Shinichi winked at Shiho and Ran and both nodded in agreement.

_This will be fun… _Rina thought.

"Okay. But, you three, from now on, just call me Rina." Rina said.

"Are you sure?" Shinichi asked with slight surprise. "We just met today, we barely know each other. After more that two years of knowing Shiho, I just started calling her by her first name this year."

"It's not a Japanese custom to call someone by their first name unless we are very close to that person. I don't even call Miyano-san as Shiho yet." Ran explained.

Shiho raised a brow. "Is it really okay? I still call Mouri-san formally, I don't call her Ran."

"It's fine…" Rina said. "I prefer being called Rina… besides, it's easier to pronounce."

"Okay then, we respect your decision." Shiho said and the other two nodded.

"So… um, Miyano-san, you call call me Ran if you want." Ran said to Shiho.

Shiho's expression softened. "Same here. Call me Shiho."

"Okay, Shiho." Ran said.

"Okay, Ran." Shiho said back.

"Oh yeah, and Rina, you can call me Shinichi-kun if you like, since I'm calling you Rina anyway." Shinichi told her.

"Yeah, same here." Shiho said. "You called me 'Shiho' a while ago anyway."

"Yeah, call me Ran." Ran told her.

Rina nodded. "Okay!"

Ran froze, remembering something.

"What's up, Ran?" Shinichi asked with concern.

"Uh-oh… I'm so dead with Mr. Tamaguchi!" Ran said worriedly.

"Why?" Shiho asked.

"What's the time, you guys?" Ran asked suddenly in a panic.

Rina offered to look at her watch. "A quarter past four." She said briefly to Ran.

"WHAT???!!!! I promised my karate instructor Mr. Tamaguchi that I will be there a quarter before four! Classes ended at three thirty and I promised him I'd go there to practice early! I'm so doomed! He happens to be so strict! Every minute to him counts! And, I'm 30 minutes LATE!!!" Ran screamed as she hurriedly hung her sling school bag on her right shoulder, grabbing hold on the door in a rush.

"Shinichi, Rina, Shiho, don't wait for me anymore! You guys go home! I'll be done with practice by about six, and I'll go straight home with Kodachi-chan, my karate friend. Okay, bye bye! Be safe!"

"Yeah, sure!" Rina hollered.

"Be safe, Ran!" Shiho waved back.

"I'll check on you later!" Shinichi yelled.

She ran out of the classroom as fast as the wind and waved her hands until even her shadow disappeared in the school hallway.

Her sound of loud running footsteps slowly faded.

Then, she was gone.

Of to karate training she went.

Shinichi stared at the two girls.

"So… walk you home?" Shinichi offered.

The two girls complied and they went out of the school grounds and walked home with Shinichi.

_ _ _

"So… where do you live?" Shinichi asked Rina while walking with her and Shiho beside him.

"I live in Shiho's house now." She said in a deep, almost scary voice.

Shinichi and Shiho had terrified expressions on their faces as they halted their steps; they felt like their adrenaline was flowing fast.

Shinichi clenched his fists. "What do you mean?"

Shiho murmured with a scared voice. "I knew it…" Her eyes were burning in anger now.

Rina smirked as her eyes darkened wickedly. "Miyano Shiho, daughter of Miyano Atsushi and Miyano Elena, sister of Miyano Akemi. Kudo Shinichi, drugged by a strange poison which Shiho created, Apotoxin 4869. Now, Shiho lives under the custody of Doctor Agasa… Shinichi was once Edogawa Conan and Miyano Shiho was once Haibara Ai… Ran, is your childhood friend, and you were after a crime syndicate once but was captured and now they have escaped again. Am I correct?"

"It's just like de ja vu…" Shinichi whispered. "She sounded just like you before…"

Note: look at episode 130 Girl From the Black Org(anime), and in the (manga) file "Sherry" and "Checkmate"--- the first appearance of Haibara Ai

"Only… this time… I don't think she's a run away member like me…" Shiho retorted.

"Who are you really, Rina?" Shinichi and Shiho asked.

"No, I'm not Rina." Rina's face turned into a twisted smile as she said. "Call me, Fortune."

Shiho laughed bitterly. "Oh, so now the organization uses cigarettes as codenames and not liquors, huh?"

"They said it suits me." Fortune said a matter of- factly. "You're Sherry, ne?"

The aura tensed up again.

"What have you done to hakase?" Shinichi asked while jaws gritted.

Shiho's eyes began to water. "I swear… if you put a single touch on hakase, I'll…"

"You'll what?" Fortune asked and her voice now as menacing as could be. "Sorry, organization's orders, I had to kill your guardian. He's back at home… dead."

A drop of tear fell from Shiho's face. Loathing was surging in her. "You…"

"You… darn you… heartless woman!" Shinichi screamed.

"Sorry, sis…" Fortune said with traces of non-guilt in her tone.

"What did you just call me?! Don't try to impersonate Akemi-neesan! Hell you!" Shiho warned.

Fortune grinned. "I'm not impersonating. We really are sisters. The organization never told you about my existence. All you knew was that you were only two siblings… Jitsuwa (actually) I'm your little sister… Gin never told you about me, I grew up separately from you two… I never got a chance to talk to you, but I always hid near you lab… and watched you day and night, without you knowing… Akemi-neesan is my eldest sister, and you're my neechan… and we have the same otousan… okaasan…"

"Damn you!" Shiho was now filled with rage as she slapped Fortune hard on the cheek. "You liar! I don't have any other sister but Akemi-neechan!"

The pain that Fortune felt on her burning cheek was not even half of what she felt now after her real sister said those words to her.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Shinichi was so shocked, but, the two teens ran towards hakase's house, hoping this was all just a terrible dream.

_Be safe… hakase…!_

Fortune chased after them, going towards Agasa residence.

_If it's true… then… my little sister is a murderer… one of __**them**__… _Shiho thought painfully.

The sun was starting to set.

**END OF CHAPTER SIX**

**Author's Note:** Well, sorry again for the very short chapter and the very long time it took me to type this down… this was SUPPOSED to be longer but I decided to chop it off into two separate chapters… watch out for Chapter 7:Shiho's Ally! You thought I've given up on this fic since I didn't update for more than a month? Well, you're all wrong. I haven't given up on ANY of my stories. FYI, I still PLAN on finishing Hikari To Kage No Roman Oikakete and all my other very old stories from long ago. I hope this builds the suspense. Bye! And please do review!

Time Started: October 29, 2008 Wednesday 1:30 PM

Time Completed: November 30, 2008 Sunday 6:15 pm


	7. Chap7 of Theme1

Disclaimer: I definitely DO NOT own this awesome anime!

Sorry for the long update! The stupid telephone of doom (damaged) affected the internet connection! It was terrible! I couldn't contact my friends via phone… I couldn't even mail them or go online because both our family phone and our internet got busted for more than three days! Okay, now that I'm back… let's all enjoy and read on!

**Theme 1: Sacrifice**

**Chapter 7: Shiho's Ally**

Shinichi and Shiho were running in full speed together, side by side, sweat glistening down their necks as they ran towards hakase's house, struggling to still have their hope within them; they were also gasping for air every second their footsteps took a leap on the pavement of the street, wind gushing through them as they scurried down the road. The street lights were slowly flickering, opening one by one as the sky darkened.

Rina was running behind them as well, shrugging the tears in her eyes, she hoped that her elder sister will still accept her after what she'd done. The slap Shiho made on her cheek still hurt but the pain that she felt when Shiho said the words were even more painful, incomparable throbbing.

"_You liar! I don't have any other sister but Akemi-neechan!"_

Rina tried to force a smile on her lips and thought positively.

As Shinichi and Shiho dashed together, nearing the house, their hearts were beating with forlorn hope that they would still see hakase sitting down in front of his computer, surfing the net. Shiho's face was distorted, physically and mentally, physically-- her once beautiful and calm face now had traces of dirt, sweat, agony, worry, and tried tears on the side of her eyes. She turned her head towards Shinichi's as she ran, gasping and speaking softly; she talked to Shinichi, ignoring the wheezing of her lungs.

They were almost there.

"Shin…ichi-ku…un…huhuhuhhh… (breathing)…"

"Yes, Shiho?" Shinichi asked, just as breathless.

"Do you think…huhuh… if Rina…Fortune…gasp…huhuhuhh… was…wass…tellinthe…… t…truth… then, that mm…means… that I…ha…have a sister…who…huhuhuh…ah… is a murderer…?"

Shinichi gave a painful look, shaking his head, he replied. "I don't know, Shiho-chan…"

Shiho frowned and nodded, her legs failing as she ran full speed ahead.

Shinichi, wanting to cheer her up, said to her with a smile.

"Shiho…huhuh…gasp…pant… hahauhuhuh… (breathing sounds) even…if, huhuh…she is…is…it doesn't…m…m…mean that…huhuhhh… you're like that… She may be a murderer…gasp… but, huhuhuhhh… you aren't… you…still have northing to do…gasp…gasp… with…huhuhh…her…even if she is your little…pant (cough)…sister…"

Shiho smiled slightly. "Thanks…Shinichi-ku…un…"

Shinichi's face suddenly lightened up.

Pointing his index finger towards the horizon, Shinichi alerted Shiho at once.

"We're here! Hakase's house!"

Shiho and Shinichi ran towards the house together, deep inside praying that he survived.

Rina ran from behind, smirking oddly.

The three, accompanied with sweat and aching legs, hurriedly entered the house of hakase.

Shinichi and Shiho halted, noticing something odd as their eyes scanned the inner house. No blood, neither its smell. No sign of a struggle. Nothing broken anywhere… There was no sign of other organization members; even Shiho didn't feel any bad aura which she used to get from the close proximity of the syndicate's members that was always eating her guts.

Nothing at all.

The place seemed fairly peaceful. However, there was no sign of hakase…

The two blinked, Rina grinning from behind.

There was just a sweet smell of cappuccino filling the air.

What was going on? --- The two thought in unison.

Suddenly, a familiar shadow slowly emerged from the kitchen, along with the scent of the sweet warm cappuccino. They could tell that the cappuccino was warm since they could see wisps of smoke along with the shadow.

"Who are you…?" Shinichi asked with suppressed fear in his shaking voice, trying to defend Shiho with his left arm as he shielded her with it.

The shadow grew larger. The dark shadow was nearing them.

"Is this your accomplice…?" Shiho asked Fortune angrily.

Fortune shook her head and simply laughed.

"What have you done to……" Even before Shinichi and Shiho could finish their query, the person behind the shadow finally came out, along with that familiar chuckle.

Two pairs of eyes widened elatedly.

"HAKASE!" Shinichi and Shiho shouted in unison.

"You're alive!" Shiho screamed with relief, running towards her surrogate father for a hug.

"Hakase, you're okay!" Shinichi stated gladly, all the worries in his face now replaced with calm and happy emotions.

Hakase laughed again as he put down the cappuccino down the table and gave the two teens a tight embrace.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Hakase laughed again.

"Because… we didn't see you… no one was here…" Shiho was explaining, tears of joy lingering in her eyes.

Hakase giggled slightly. "I was just making coffee." He explained while hugging Shiho tenderly just like how a father would.

"But… that girl…" Shinichi said angrily, pointing at Fortune.

Hakase and Fortune smiled at each other.

"What's going on…?" The two teens asked with confusion.

Shinichi and Shiho both were sure that he is the real Agasa hakase because if it was an organization member hiding under a smart disguise, they'd know it for sure, and they'd sense bad aura. But, now, they were sure that the old fat mat in front of them is the hakase that has been with them for years, as for Shinichi, since childhood, literally. They don't know how they would recognize, however, deep down in their hearts, they knew this was hakase.

But, right now, they didn't understand the situation. So many questions filled their minds, and so much of them unanswered.

"You know her?!" Shinichi screeched in disbelief, reality dawning upon him.

"She's going to kill you, hakase!" Shiho shouted worriedly, shielding hakase from the close proximity of Fortune.

"But you see…" Hakse tried to explain to them calmly while Fortune just stood there.

"NO BUTS!" Shinichi shouted. "Don't you know that you have a criminal here in your house!?"

"She's a member of the black organization!!!" Shiho yelled angrily. "She's after all of us!"

Shinichi was aggressive; he went nearer and nearer to Fortune and said.

"We should pin her down and not let her escape! She might have implanted a transmitter here… or… or a hearing device!!! Hakase! She's a CRIMINAL! She's a heartless murderer! She is no different from THEM! I hate her! She's a CRIMINAL and she should rot in jail!"

There was a long pause after that.

Shiho knew his words were all too familiar, her memories of the past was still fresh, and now, for the reason she wasn't sure of, her heart ached.

Shinichi, too, realized what he had said. Looking at Shiho, he darted an apologetic look.

Those words hurt Fortune equally as how it did to her sister 2 years back.

Hakase gave a sad smile and reminded him. "Shinichi-kun, those were the exact words you said to Ai-kun years ago when you first met her."

_**Flashback**_

"_Welcome home, Ai-kun. How was school?" Professor Agasa hakase asked Haibara as she entered his house with the angry Conan following her behind._

_Haibara gave a aywn as she slumped down a nearby couch and said._

"_School's fine. Had an interesting day…"_

_Conan yelled with fiery eyes, his temper rising._

"_What's the meaning of this, hakase?! You've got a CRIMINAL in this house! Don't you know that she's one of them! She's a member of the organization and I hate her! She's EVIL and she's a heartless murderer!"_

_Those words tore the little Shiho's façade as sadness flickered in her blue eyes, but, after a second, it was gone._

_But the pain, the pain she felt inside her heart after the accusation without even hearing her side of the story… hurt her deeply._

_Kudo-kun didn't know, but, she was the victim, she was the one to be pitied…_

_She knew she could suppress it well, but, if she was alone, she could just break down and pour her tears down her cheeks._

_The guilt… the anxiety, it was too much for her to take. Her heart ached at that moment._

_**End of Flashback**_

"This girl came to the house and explained that she was a member of the organization and she escaped roughly…uh…chotto…eto ne…2 years ago…?" Hakase said, unsure of the accuracy of his words.

Fortune gave a small nod and that made him continue as Shinichi and Shiho listened in awe.

"She just escaped right after Ai-kun…ah…er…Shiho-chan, left the syndicate."

Fortune nodded once more then elaborated. "I had to escape… after I found out that neechan…uh…" Fortune stammered, her eyes avoiding Shiho's. "Gomenasai…I meant…uh… that Miyano-san went missing… I mean…Sherry…" Her eyes were downcast, still feeling the stinging pain of her cheek on which Shiho slapped her. "I had to find you…" Fortune looked up and faced Shiho again. Shiho just nodded, still trying to absorb all this new information. The happenings in her life simply ran too fast for her to handle. "I had to prove to…otousan… to okaasan… that I could find you… and I was successful after all…" She finished her sentence with a soft sigh, and then, everything went silent.

No one spoke.

They were surprised of what they had just heard.

Did they hear right? Shiho's parents were _alive_?!

Then, with courage, Shiho spoke up.

"Are… are you saying that… both our parents are…are alive…?" She asked with trembling lips.

With a genuine smile, Fortune replied. "Yes, Miyano-san…yes, tousan, kaasan… they're alive…"

Shiho's eyes widened as she collapsed down the floor with shaking lips. Her eyes began to water. Her hands clasped together to cover her mouth. "Oh my God…" Her tears fell faster and faster as she whimpered in soft cries, her mouth forming a small smile.

_My parents are alive! _Shiho thought with gladness, then, hatred suddenly got into her.

_That means that all these years…I've thought I didn't have a family…but I did… the organization LIED to me…_

Tears fell down fast that night for the scientist with auburn hair.

"Ex…explain to me…explain to all of us…everything…tell me…tell me all I have to know…"

Shiho mumbled, her body immobile on the floor while tears streaming fast down her cheeks, mixed emotions pinning her down the floor. She no longer was the girl with a cool and calm façade. Something like this was too much for her mask to cover, and therefore she let the tears flow and her body crash down the hard cold ground and let Agasa, Shinichi and Fortune, her new found sister, embrace her altogether as they all hushed her to silent cries.

Shinichi was "hushing" her while tapping her shoulder, Agasa, patting her back while Fortune was rubbing her back, trying to stop her from this crying breakdown.

"Yes…yes, neechan…" Fortune nodded obediently to the sister who she loves ever so dearly while rubbing her back, consoling her. "…I…I will tell you all everything." She looked at Shinichi and Agasa and smiled. "…everything you have to know… even your father, he's involved…" Fortune said to Shinichi, and with that, Shinichi flinched.

"My otousan? You mean Kudo Yuusaku? What does he have to do with this…?" Shinichi asked worriedly. Agasa was just as surprised.

Fortune gave a sad smile. "It seems that you have a lot of things that you don't know yet… about me, about neechan's past…everything… let's all sit down and talk things through… I'll explain everything…" She turned to Shiho. "First o all, my name...uh… my real name… I'm…I'm… Miyano Haruka…"

Shiho's eyes widened.

"I've heard of you before!" Shiho screeched upon remembering the familiar name.

"You…you have…?" Haruka asked with disbelief. "Muri…muri desu…(that's impossible) demo…(but) doshite…(why)?"

Seeing the situation, Shinichi grinned. "Well, looks like we've got a lot to talk about."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

The moon was shining brightly now, and now, she will know a past, a huge past about her family that she never knew, but now…she was about to hear it all. She was going to hear this all from her new friend, her imouto (young sis), who stands as her ally.

Miyano Haruka was Shiho's ally.

And together, they can destroy the syndicate.

___________________________________________________________________________

After karate training was over…

"Iko (come)… let's go home now, Kodachi-san!" Ran called to her friend while fixing her karate bag as well as getting her sling bag from the locker room.

"Haii!" Kodachi-san responded cheerfully as could be.

"You ready to go home? It's almost 8pm…" Ran looked at her watch while stating. "It's dark, let's go."

Kodachi frowned. "Yeah, you're right, it's getting dark out there… let's go."

Ran closed the lights of the karate training hall and she and Kodachi walked out together headed for home.

"You got a good ten minutes scolding from sensei…" Kodachi laughed slightly while swaying her bag left to right.

Ran frowned. "Mou taku (uuhhh…geez), Kodachi-san… why on earth did you have to remind me of that?! Huh…" Ran sighed while walking.

Kodachi controlled another laugh. "That's okay; sensei was okay with it in the end anyway."

"Yeah, he laughed and forgave me for being late in the end…" Ran smiled while giggling.

It was dark, only the street lights and the shops at view lighted their way. They both usually got home much earlier than this and had the companion of Shinichi so they were safe, but now, because of Rina, Shinichi wasn't walking home with them and they even had to clean up the karate hall since Ran was late for practice and Kodachi wanted to help her.

The truth is, sensei wanted to stay with them to see if they will be alright, since he is such a kind and considerate teacher, however, he had a wedding to attend to, so he had no choice but to leave the two girls.

While the two girls were chatting while walking near their respective homes, suddenly, two hands with a towel sprayed with sleeping gas from behind clamped their mouth shut without warning. Then, before they knew it, they collapsed and fell into deep slumber.

The figure grinned very wickedly and kidnapped the two girls heartlessly.

The figure… it had a shape…of a woman…

To be more precise… a teenage girl…

Yes, a teenage girl did this awful thing, wearing the same Teitan High uniform…

"Moshi moshi…" The girl spoke through her phone while driving a black car with Ran and Kodachi all tied up and unconscious inside the trunk of the car.

"So… how was it, Brandy?" The man from the other line asked with a raspy voice.

"Perfect…" The girl said while smiling maliciously. "…grandfather…"

"Well done…" The man from the other line congratulated. "…bring them here to headquarters."

"Yes, as you wish, granddad." The girl said obediently then she shut off the phone.

While keeping the stirring wheel moving with her right and keeping her cell phone with her left, she smirked in satisfaction and said.

"Now, let's just see if you wouldn't come and rescue your friends…I'll finally be able to take revenge on you… Fortune…but, I mean no harm to Sherry anyways…but, she's still your neechan…"

She said with much loathing while trying to feel and caress her left eye which lost its shimmer and glow with her hand because of a certain young girl who she used to love; then her car disappeared in the dark.

_________________________________________________________________________

"Hai…Hai…NANI (what)??????!!!!!!! HAAAA??????!!!!!! WHATTTTT???????!!!!!!!!!!!"

Officer Takagi was calm at first but then screeched loudly while talking on the phone with Inspector Nakamori. He was currently inside the head office of the police station and Officer Sato Miwako, Inspector Shihatori and Inspector Megure were all there working with their paper works.

"Don't be so loud, Takagi-kun!" Inspector Megure ordered angrily.

"We ARE working, you know… You're so noisy!" Shihatori-kun exclaimed.

"What made you so upset, Takagi-kun? But you do know that you should keep it down."

Officer Sato, his girl friend, warned him although with gentleness in her voice.

A/N: YES! OH YES! Sato and Takagi are finally dating!!! I think it's for real, too! HopeGrace said that they kissed already! YEHEY! HAHA

All the other officers were irritated with his actions as well since other were had their own important work-related phone calls and manual work to do in their laptops. They were all pissed since he distracted everyone by making that loud of a shout during a phone conversation.

Takagi slammed the phone and turned to his co-police officers.

"Minna-san… (everyone)… something terrible has happened…"

And, at that, as if by cue, all the people and I mean ALL, turned to face him and stared at him worriedly. Takagi-kun is, and will be, one of the clumsiest and most childish police officer there could ever be. However, the seriousness in his voice was what scared them all. Takagi-kun has NEVER and I mean EVER been serious in his life as a police officer and has always been the happy-go-lucky type with a poker face. But, now… his face was filled with worry… and much sadness. Even a murder case couldn't make him THIS upset.

All his work-mates stared at him, then, scanning his eyes for answers.

The first one who spoke up was Megure-keibu.

"What's wrong, Takagi-kun? A case?" He asked anxiously.

Takagi just swallowed hard, very hard that it was an audible 'gulp'.

His eyes were trembling, as if he's seen a ghost.

Sato, his girl friend, walked towards him and patted his shoulder.

A/N: Sato used his first name in addressing him and not the surname since they are lovers.

"What happened, Wataru?" Sato asked him just as worriedly with her hands on his shoulder.

Everyone, the male police, used to have a crush on Sato since she was the prettiest female officer there was, and everyone used to hate Takagi for stealing her… for making her committed and not single and available anymore. They used to threaten Takagi into breaking up with her so that they can all have a chance to be her boy friend.

But, almost a year have passed since their childish times of rivalry in fighting for Sato's heart, but now, they have all finally accepted and put and end to childish jealousy, even Shihatori, who was once so head-over-heels with Sato, now, has finally moved on with Officer Yumi instead.

So, they didn't mind, or at least, tried to not mind, Sato holding Takagi's shoulder. Some would still give poor Takagi-kun death glares out of jealousy that he got the prettiest woman alive--Sato, but now, those glares didn't matter anymore because Takagi knew that Officer Sato Miwako, the girl of his dreams, loves him passionately, more than any girl could.

Takagi Wataru's lips trembled as he whispered something to Sato Miwako's ear.

"Miwako-chan…"

After hearing what he had just whispered, Officer Sato's eyes grew as wide as could be and worry gushed in her. But the most important thing that everyone saw was the familiar glint in her eyes--- that detective look. Yes, Officer Sato had those determined eyes! She got the detective look again. She had those eyes yearning for justice. Yes, now, her frown turned into a grim smile and said to everyone.

"We've got a case from Inspector Nakamori." She said with serious eyes.

"Inspector Nakamori?! NANI?? (what)"

Inspector Megure hollered in disbelief, hearing his rival in his line of work call his department.

"He's not in our jurisdiction! Why is he telling us this?! Doesn't he have better men to do his cases? Why is he sinking down to his pride and asking for our help? Wakaranai…(I don't understand)… He's in the Kyoto prefecture… like he is the one after Kaito Kid, and we don't mind his business… demo…(but) doshite (why)… Officer Hattori Heizo is in the Osaka prefecture while we are in the Tokyo. Why should we meddle with their cases?"

Sato gave him a look.

"We, with all the prefectures in Japan once worked together, remember keibu?"

"Yes, Sato-san… demo…(but)…" Inspector Megure protested.

"About a year ago, we joined forces with ALL the prefectures in Japan, the Osaka department, Kyoto, Hiroshima, even the Okinawa prefecture… we once worked hand in hand… why is it so different now? We needed more help before, so, in order to solve the case, we needed to join hands, for the very first time… Why is it so hard now? Dakara…(and so) what now?"

Sato told Megure with burning eyes with determination and the voice of persuasion.

There was silence in the police office now, everyone absorbed with Sato's words.

"But, the only reason why we had to join forces is because the Kuro no Soshiki (Black Syndicate) that we were after is a very underground and powerful organization that has been under the dark for more than 20 years! They did everything, drug dealing, kidnapping, blackmail, death threats, murder and that was the hardest case to solve…even Kudo-kun couldn't defeat them himself. They were hard to put down. So naturally, we NEEDED to join forces, we had no choice, and the organization shrunk Kudo-kun to Conan-kun and has harmed lots of lives… They organization was unstoppable and they were very hard to defeat, and so, naturally, we had to work together… But now… since it's just an ordinary case… why do we need to unite?"

Inspector Megure reasoned.

"Yeah, Sato-san…" A male officer voiced out. "If it's just an ordinary murder or burglary, why do we have to help?"

"It's not like its something big, right?" Shihatori inserted.

"Why are you two so upset?" Officer Chiba asked while chewing his last bite of burger.

Takagi gulped again and Sato's eyes burned with those detective eyes again.

They had NO idea.

"The Kyoto prefecture can handle whatever that case is themselves…" Someone dragged on.

"It's not only the Kyoto prefecture…" Takagi inserted while shaking. "The Osaka department called up and asked help from us, too. It looks like we were the last ones to hear this news."

Sato nodded, since she knew the situation.

"What do you mean by that?" The other female officer asked worriedly now.

"This happened about a week and a half ago." Sato said to them.

"WHAT transpired a week and a half ago?" The others asked exasperatedly.

"What the heck is the case about anyway?" The other male officer, Officer Doraku inserted irritated, since the two lovers were prolonging the suspense---well, actually they couldn't bare tell their colleagues the actual problem, but they knew that they had to, yes, they were down right annoyed.

Everyone nodded and agreed with his question.

Sato sighed and gave them a sad look. Her eyes slid to take a glimpse of Takagi's anxious look and she squeezed Takagi's hand and told him.

"Wataru… it's time to tell them all…"

Takagi just nodded, still nervous.

"Minna (everyone)…" Sato started while fixing her collar nervously.

Everyone with expectant eyes listened carefully, worried on how big this case was.

"This is the biggest case we'll ever have…" Sato continued with a cough, clearing her throat.

Everyone held their breath, Chiba, on the other hand, stopped eating his burger.

Sato closed her eyes and clenched her fists, revealing the words in her mind.

Takagi just stood beside her.

"The Black Organization has escaped Kyoto city jail…"

Everyone in the room nearly either fainted or got a major heart attack.

This was INDEED the biggest case yet-- capturing the devious syndicate.

The battle was about to begin.

And all the police departments will unite once again, just like a year ago…

_ _ _ _ _ _

**END OF CHAPTER 7**

**To be continued… :)**

Warning: long IMPORTANT A/N concerning the story flow.

Miyano Ran: So…how'd you guys like that? Oh, and thank to all those who reviewed especially **JogokuAi, HopeGrace1920, alexzhou04, International **also known as **Unknown 2008, Luckystar4869 **and many others! I appreciate your support in my story! It motivates me to continue writing! I love love love you readers!!!!! You guys have NO IDEA how hard it is to continue this thing… there are so much loopholes and untied strings in the details of this story---now becoming novel because of its length…!

This is the LONGEST story I've ever written! And my love for writing has gone to a whole new level! If you paid attention to every minute detail of this fic, you'll see that there are a LOT of untied strings that I HAVE to solve in the end, example… like, haven't you all noticed but I still have to write about Izumi's murder case…that will take long!

And I have to expose some new characters… like, how was the girl who kidnapped Ran and Kodachi, and her real identity? And…just WHY did she call the one on the phone "grandfather" and what is her relationship with Fortune and what did Fortune to her, Brandy? Plus, if you were observant enough, I still have to mention A LOT in regards to Elena and Atsushi's past, and who was the male who Elena was SUPPOSED to marry?

And…just why is Shinichi's dad related with the BO? And what was that gift that Shinichi gave to Ran on her b-day… in case you all have forgotten… and, how did Vermouth find Haruka? And…how did the BO escape…? And I have to fix the story timeline as well, it's getting confusing.

And, where did Gin get the IV that he injected on Shiho in the previous chapter?! Well, all of those questions will be answered in the following chapters to come…PLUS, more mystery headed your way! So…please PLEASE keep reading! And don't forget to leave a comment. Thank you all. Bye!

Get ready for Chapter 8 in progress: Evergreen

I LOVE YOU ALL! -Miyano Ran-chan XD

Started: December 3, 2008 Wednesday 11:30pm

Ended: December 20, 2008 Saturday 2:00pm


	8. Chap8 of Theme1

Disclaimer: I absolutely have nothing that I own in the DC anime.

_**30 Wishes: Shinichi and Shiho**_

**Theme 1: Sacrifice**

**Chapter 8: Evergreen**

"Mou…(oh…) come on, imouto-chan (little sis) … you can't be THAT mad at her, can you?" The teenage boy asked worriedly while walking towards her car as soon as it was parked under the organization's base.

"What is it now oniisan (big bro)?! What's your problem? I DESPISE her THAT much…" She emphasized, opening the back trunk of the car in where Ran and Kodachi were captured. "Look!" She said angrily while pointing at her left eye. "SHE caused this… I want her to DIE…" The girl said with hatred in her tone.

The two siblings have been having arguments with regards to forgiving _a girl_ lately. The girl was hard headed and stubborn, she wanted to blame and throw out her anger at _someone_ and that is why she wanted to kill their _cousin_. But, the lad was trying to convince his little sister that she should let go of the past and forgive. Actually, there was noting to forgive… since it was all a tragic accident… a year ago…

But the girl remained angry… she wanted to BLAME her. And, she has changed a lot since.

"Yes, I know…demo (but)…" The boy tried to talk her out of it, trying to remain gentle.

"Demo nani?!!!! (but what)" The girl asked with irritation, turning to face the elder sibling.

"It was an ACCIDENT…" The boy emphasized. "We used to love each other…the three of us…"

"The past is gone… now; I've got to get revenge… oniisan…" The girl said while carrying Ran and Kodachi out of the car trunk. "You are right, niisan, we _used to _like each other…" She said bitterly with a hint of sarcasm.

"See… you've even become like them… a heartless murderer…" The boy told her sadly while helping her carry Ran and Kodachi out of the car and to the nearest bench in the parking basement area. "You have the mentality of the syndicate now…" He blurted out painfully. "You even kidnap your fellow classmates just to get your bait! I mean, how cold-blooded could you get imouto!?"

"Murderer?!!" The girl protested madly. "Niisan, I HAVEN'T even murdered anyone yet!!!"

"But, you WILL soon… and you've changed… since when did you start listening to the Boss?"

"You mean granddad?" The girl asked innocently while fixing up her folded skirt with creases around the edges.

"You know…imouto-chan… I'd prefer it if you DIDN'T address him as our grandfather… even if he really is… I just don't want to remember being related to ano hito (that man)…" He said grimly while his face fell.

"You know what, niisan? I think I LIKE being here…" She said with loathing and fury.

"You LIKE being here in the syndicate?! Are you crazy?! Once upon a time you, me and Haruka-chan all wanted to escape this place… and now…"

Her elder brother yelled in horror, then, slammed his palm against his face, not believing that his sweet young sister had changed into a monster like his granddad, the founder of the menacing organization.

The girl sighed. "The past is the past… don't ever call her like that…she's Fortune to me now…"

"Since when did you have such a terrible attitude?!!" The elder brother lectured her angrily.

The girl had anger and sadness in her eyes. Having so much built up emotions all at once is impossible, but, she was really mad… but sad as well.

"I hate you…Evergreen…" The girl whispered simply, exiting the door, clenching her fists.

"What did you say, imouto-chan?!!!" The elder brother screeched in horror. "You've become one of them!!! Don't you realize that?! You have changed, imouto!!!!!"

Ignoring his brother's piercing words, she said softly while closing her eyes as she took a step forward out the door.

"Don't call me imouto (little sis) anymore … from now on… call me… what you should be calling me…"

"What?" Her brother, codename Evergreen, asked with shock and grief in his eyes.

"Now, to you, I'm Brandy…"

"Brandy?! I can't use your codename! We're siblings! We love each other!" The brother yelled.

She pulled the door.

Giving a last painful look at her brother, she said softly but clearly while tears were forming.

"You're right; we _used to _love each other…"

Her brother's eyes widened with shock and he felt as though his ears were betraying him… but no, he heard it right. His little sister's heart has been darkened by hatred and the idea for vengeance against their cousin. He couldn't believe that his little sister who was so angelic and kind before has turned into a little devil, no, a big devil.

The girl pressed on. "I _don't _love you anymore, nii…" Shaking her head and with a sad chuckle, she said. "I mean, Evergreen. Since you are defending Fortune…"

"But, you and Fortune have been the closest friends since childhood." The brother explained with tears in his eyes.

The girl laughed again cheerlessly. "That was a long time ago, Evergreen."

"But, imouto…" He tried to speak but the girl stopped him.

"Brandy. Brandy's my name." She said with a low tone.

The boy sighed. "Brandy…" How he loathed using their codenames. "Don't all those years with Fortune mean anything to you? Not even a little…?"

"Evergreen…" The girl, codename Brandy, told him. "…she was the sole reason why I lost my sight… why I can't draw as perfectly as before…" She tried to hold back tears. "Dakara…(so that's why)… I hate her… and… those years of memories…"

She paused while pressing her lips together for a moment, thinking.

The brother looked at her with expectant eyes.

"…they have no meaning to me now…" She ended tonelessly.

Those words pierced her brother's heart. His loving little sister wasn't going to come back… she was brainwashed by the syndicate. Because of hate, because she didn't want to forgive, because of the desire for revenge, her tender heart of goodness was overshadowed by the dark power of the demons under human flesh… those black crows… the devilish syndicate. She has been influenced by her very evil and horrible grandfather.

And now, she was a TRUE member of the black syndicate. Her heart was as black as _theirs_…

SLAM!

The door closed and her sister was out of sight.

Upon hearing those painful words from his only younger sister who he loves, Sano Shirayuki knelt down the floor and broke into tears.

_Little sister… you've become one of THEM… you've changed… you're a MONSTER…_

Only tears of hatred and melancholy flowed down his cheek.

_I wonder where you are now… Haruka-chan… Please be safe…_

Because Brandy lost her sight in the left eye a year ago… she couldn't have a heart to accept, that it wasn't her itoko's (cousin's-- thanks Luckysta4869 for telling me!) fault. She hated her and blamed her for everything.

Or did she really?

Or was she just scared to run?

Run from her fate…

Her fate under the dark…

_ _ _ _ _

After Shiho's tears had dried, Shinichi, Haruka and Agasa motioned her to a sofa and sit there. Shiho took a deep breath. Now, they were going to talk about everything Shiho never knew.

"Now…what's the first thing I should know…Haruka-chan?" Shiho asked Haruka with her quivering voice. "I promise I will control myself." She added seriously.

"And…what about my dad?!" Shinichi exclaimed out of nowhere. "What's his relation to the organization?!"

"Chotto (wait) minna (everyone)… can you all please calm down…?" Haruka pleaded, her hands were held upwards, trying to make this an orderly conversation.

Shiho and Shinichi looked at each other and blinked. Then they nodded.

"Okay… me first…"

Haruka voiced out.

"My name's Miyano Haruka, youngest among three sisters, my eldest sister is Miyano Akemi; my second elder sister is Miyano Shiho."

Then, she looked at Shiho and she and Shinichi with Agasa nodded in comprehension.

"That's you. Okay, our father is Miyano Atusushi, full Japanese, a scientist, and was kidnapped by the organization more than 20 years ago… then, he had us…"

She made some hand actions then continued.

"Our mother… is Miyano Elena… her full name when she was single back then was is Elena Hazel Steward Fry, but, of course, she's Miyano Elena now after she married dad. She is a full British-blooded scientist working in England more than 20 years ago… and she moved here to Japan after her family set her in an arrange marriage with a wealthy Japanese man…"

Shiho suddenly inserted. "With otousan?" She asked.

Surprisingly, Haruka shook her head. "No… you see… when you have the surname Fry in England at that time… that meant you were one of the most powerful… the most influential, the richest family in Europe."

Shiho, Shinichi and Agasa gasped in surprise.

"Our mother came from a very rich and famous family…" Haruka proceeded. Noticing the tense atmosphere, she decided to lighten the talk a bit. "We even have a huge mansion back home in England, Shiho-neechan!" Shiho smiled a little, then, it faded again when Haruka stopped talking.

"Please… continue." Shiho insisted. "I need to know everything. Who was the man our mom was supposed to have her engagement? Do I know him? Why did she marry dad instead?"

Haruka's face fell. "Our mother Miyano Elena actually was supposed to marry…"

Haruka took a sharp glance at Shinichi, and then, she proceeded.

Taking a deep breath, she said.

"Kudo Yuuksaku, Shinichi's dad."

_ _ _ _ _

_I know it's not your fault, Haruka-chan… it was an accident… but… I have no one to blame…_

Brandy's eyes were filled with tears while she was breathing hard; her body leaned against the door. She clenched her fists and let out a soft moan. She didn't know what she wanted. She was getting hysterical.

_I'm so sorry, Haruka-chan… I… I just have to kill you…_

She was tired of running from the syndicate, so now, she decided, that she will obey orders.

_I have to kill you soon…Haruka-chan…_

She made a desolate smile… a smile that you can't understand, a smile torn between an evil one and a regretful one…

_And…_

_Gomenasai (sorry)… Shirayuki onii-chan… I can't keep my promise to you… not anymore…_

She closed her eyes as she crumbled down the floor in tears. She wept and wept.

_The promise that… that… I will never kill…_

**END OF CHAPTER 8**

Please review! Thanks a lot to those who reviewed!

Time Started: 1 am in the morning of supposedly December 21, 2008

Time Finished: 5 pm in the afternoon of December 27, 2008


End file.
